Kingdom Hearts Re:Puzzle of Truth
by FerreTrip
Summary: Mewtwo, down to level 1...Ash, bereft of his pokémon...Two separate ends of the personality spectrum. Two separate journeys to restore their world. Two separate truths to find. One huge-a** combined rewrite. Read and review, please! Rating MAY change.
1. M00,01: Prolouged Suffering

_...Flying..._

_**There's confusion**_

_**Coming from everywhere**_

_**No solution**_

_**Nothing helps to lay bare**_

_...Memories..._

_**My reason**_

_**Why I am even here**_

_**My creation**_

_**Without one seems unfair**_

_...Darkness..._

_**You're one of the lucky ones**_

_**Born just like everyone**_

_**Together on this wretched planet!**_

"_Quiet! ...Let us hear its psychic powers...!"_

_**I'm an unnatural one**_

_**I am the only one**_

_**All alone on this wretched planet!**_

_...Water..._

_**Your destiny's an easy one**_

_**To find, just ask anyone**_

_**To help you on this cursed planet!**_

"_...This armor will not disable your powers, but focus them..."_

_**I wish I could find someone**_

_**To ask, but there is no one**_

_**To help me on this cursed planet!**_

_...Land..._

_**But I'm so sick and tired of it!**_

"_He may not have a nickname, but I've still got...Charizard. I choose you!"_

_**Enough brooding and whining!**_

_...Sky..._

_**I'm on my own but I won't quit**_

"_...And this time, we'll both remember..."_

_**On my searching and finding**_

_...Space..._

_**'Cuz there's an answer out there**_

_**For me to hear with my own ears**_

_**To my questions**_

_**I know there's a confession**_

_**To how, what, where, when**_

_**And who and why did I begin**_

_**If I was meant for shackles or to be free**_

_**Someday soon, Fate and Destiny**_

_...Mmmm?_

_..A_

_.a dream?_

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Nightsky City was a bustling ville in the daytime. Tall skyscrapers clogged the Unovan sun, various noises clogged the tidy air, slow traffic clogged the wide roads, and steady pedestrians clogged the old sidewalks. Among these streetwalkers was a young, fit, medium-height Kantoese man. He wore an unsmiling face beneath two large bangs, one bigger than the other. His purple, somewhat short hair was spiky, but obeyed the laws of gravity more than most with the majority of the spikes pointing down. A long, thick rat tail hung down from the back, bouncing along as he walked.

His eyes, the most distinguishing feature, were a piercing violet, and seemed as if they were perpetually slanted into a glare, although somewhat softened coming towards the nose. Around his neck he wore a brown cloak of a single cloth wrapped around it, with the back of it jaggedly torn short to fall down only to his black belt. The rest of his outfit consisted of black sneakers, worn baggyish blue jeans, and a stony grey t-shirt with "Cerulean City Spelunkers Club" on it in blue.

He trudged along the road, hands in pockets. He was bored, going home after getting some brunch at the sub joint down Joyce Street. He lived far away, near the old church with the nearly-abandoned tower.

The youth yawned, stretching. 'So little for to do...I still need waking up,' he thought, half-eyeing and all-out grimacing. He had no real job to go to; he instead got what money he required through minor thievery: At night, he went around and took little bits of money from many houses, enough to pay for food and, when needed, clothing. (He appreciated the low prices at the local Goodwill.) It was long and tedious work, but it was how he got by. He'dn't been caught yet, so he'dn't worry a bit. Now, an hour and a half after waking up at noon, he needed something interesting to happen, or else the poor guy would keel over of boredom.

_"AAAHHHHH!"_

He looked casually to the alleyway where he heard the scream. It sounded feminine and old. The guy smirked. 'That will do,' he thought, and casually entered the casual alleyway. He heard cries of "Back! Back!" and the sounds of something flailing out to beat someone—probably a purse. No grunts, and no footsteps; the attacker must have cornered her and was closing slowly in on her. The young man frowned annoyedly as he used his psychic abilities to see a stout, round-faced old woman kitted up in a dress that appeared to be quite skillfully made and a matching hat, all shades of red. Crowding her were three large men with, instead of pokéballs, clubs in their hands. The hysterical old woman was batting her little purse with all her might. The man thought, furrowing his brow. 'I wonder if they desire knocking her unconscious, then stripping her (*shudder*) and selling that outfit for a high price.'

He gauged their strength with his abilities, eyes wandering his surroundings as he soundlessly crept along the alleyway. They caught on a dirty wooden crate full of old junk from some shop or apartment. Two articles looked to be in good shape and were available for easy taking: A round, hollow metal towel bar with a bit bent and snapped off and, of all things, a broken cricket bat. A stick of the same length as those two items stood propped up against it.

**Piece 0: ~Prologue~**

The man shrugged, approaching it. 'Huh. Fair fight, weapon on weapon, and besides, I want to get better at swordfighting, anyway,' he reasoned, looking to see which seemed the most suited, finding they all looked to be able to withstand beating people. 'Hmmm...The bar would be more painful, I could do technical moves easier with that stick and the bat's width could let me block attacks easier,' he observed. After a second's decision, he decided to take the stick. 'I need no shield to defend and no sword to offend; I am confident in my abilities enough to go with this,' he reasoned, putting the stick into his belt. He advanced quickly now, since he had wasted enough time with the weapons.

Just in time, too; the men were almost upon the old woman. "My, what a nice dress you have," one of them commented darkly, grinning.

"AAAHHHHHHH!" she screamed again, cringing.

_"HEY!"_

The men turned around, glaring at the little punk in front of them. (The old woman peeked up from her cringe and raised her eyebrows.) They were a fair bit taller than him (although the kid was somewhat tall already) and were likely twice his weight in muscle. The one in the middle spoke. "Get outta here, or you're gonna regret it, and don't even think of callin' the cops on us," he threatened. "We got connections."

The man smirked, eyes now like triangles as his eyebrows narrowed them. "The latter," he said, voice deep and powerful despite his scrawniness, "I will agree to. The former, though—" He drew his stick with one hand and got into stance, improvised weapon hanging relaxed at his side. He had his right foot forward, and was standing sideways. His legs were, like a good fighter, bent. He sort of resembled a fencer. His smirk opened a bit. "I must apologize, but running is simply _not_ my battle style."

The three guys blinked, looked at each other, and burst out laughing. "You...are the _weirdest_...little kid...A little _stick_? WHAA-HAHAHA!" The first guffawed, bending over and having to shut his eyes from laughing. When he managed to open them, he laughed as a skinny stick sailed past his dodged body. "You wanna play? Then come on!" He swung with his club.

The young man smiled. "Are you sure?" he asked, rolling under the swing. He stopped and jumped up, turning to his target. "Because I play—" _THWWAACK!_ The man yiped at the kid's strength, the cane stinging his face and causing him to stagger back a bit. The kid landed. "—very rough!"

The other two growled. "You little—" said one, and the fight began. They charged in on him, but the man dodged and went into a combination of swings. His strength was great, despite his skinniness. He ducked, rolled, dived, and evaded attacks while he dealt out swings, thrusts, and strikes to the men. When he was surrounded, he jumped and kicked off one guy's chest, sending him back, and froghopped over another's, making sure to kick his back with both heels as he sailed over. And when one guy tried to attack him with a strong, two-handed blow, he leaped nimbly, higher than any normal human, and grabbed his foe's head. He swung onto the enemy's back, latched on with his legs, and started viciously waling away at the back of his neck. After a few, before he was thrown, he grabbed the shoulders, unhooked his legs, and then kicked himself off the enemy's back. It was astounding how he fought. And the amazing part was, he didn't use a real fighting style; he just used a self-taught set of moves, and improvized when needed! Yet these moves were efficient—calculated—while at the same time sort of showy and wide.

The woman, on the ground from shock from watching the fight, gaped as the three men, bearing bruises, fell back to one end of the alley. The youth was on the other. He pointed his stick at them. "Were I you, I would run," he said simply. '...Well, not really, but...'

The guys seethed. "GET 'IM!" the center one commanded, and the three shot towards him at once. The young man simply stood, waiting, pointing out to the side. Then, at the last moment, he whipped around in a lightning-fast spin, swinging his stick around to their fronts so fast he cut their shirts, and followed up with a reverse hooking kick, heel meeting cheek, kicking all three down. He spun back into stance and breathed. The guys grimaced and then scrambled to get their cowardly asses outta there.

"And stay out," he muttered, smirking while he sheathed his stick. He turned around and his face magically changed to become an honest look of concern. "Are you okay, m'am?" he asked gently, bending down a bit to the short woman.

She nodded, smiling broadly. "Thank you," she said in a classic old lady voice, "thank you so much. I don't have the slightest idea why those men would just out and attack a defenseless old lady like that without having any interest in money..." She furrowed her brow in confusion.

The man shook his head. "Oh, they were interested in money, all right," he said. Pointing to her hat, he explained, "Your outfit looks so ornate and expensive, they must have thought they could sell it on eBay or something. Is it high quality?" he asked, resting chin on hand, elbow on other hand.

The lady nodded and responded in a relieved tone, "That explains that comment...Yes, it's made of silk; I'm glad they didn't get to me. Thank you so much again, sir...er, your name, if I may?" she asked.

The man gave a mental shrug. "Sure. I am Maru," he said, inclining his head. "Not Shikamaru, or Ebisumaru, but just Maru."

The woman smiled sweetly, putting a hand on her chest. "Thank you, Mr. Maru, again, for saving an old woman like me. I don't want to ask why you did and will instead be grateful I'm still clothed. A naked old lady in the middle of the city..." She shuddered (as did Maru mentally, again). "How wrong and embarrassing!" She shook her head and looked up, smiling. "I absolutely _have_ to give you a reward," she asserted firmly. She lowered her head to her purse while she rummaged, grey bunned hair visible under the wide brim of her hat.

Maru chuckled and held his hands up, giving a slight smile. "No, but thank you anyway, miss," he said. "You almost lost a great deal of money, and I do not—"

"Nonsense!" The woman withdrew what looked like a round, bright golden bauble of some sort. "I won't accept 'no' as an answer. You deserve this. It's only fair since you went out of your way to rescue me. And in such an entertaining manner!" She chuckled and shook her head. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were some sort of Fighting-type in disguise. Or mayhaps you're just very good," she suggested. Maru, who had merely raised an eyebrow when she suggested he was a pokémon, swore he saw a faint glint in her eyes.

Maru, mouth slanted in an unsure kind of guilt, took the bauble. "No; I am only a man," he shook his head. He smiled again. "Thank you for the bauble. It is very beautiful. I will keep it safe." He nodded and turned, saying, "Farewell, and be careful," over his shoulder while he walked off.

The lady gave a giggle. "I will, and thank you again!" she shouted back. "Oh, and don't spend it all in one place!" she added.

Maru raised an eyebrow at this. 'I doubt I will be pawning this interesting sphere any time soon, and I thought telling her I would keep it safe would suggest that to her,' he mused. 'I suppose there may have been some social skill I missed there...again...' He shrugged and looked again at his reward. '...Though...No, this seems just a little too big to possibly be used as currency...' He shrugged again, put it in his cloak, and walked off. He noticed he still had his stick with him when he got home, and decided he may as well keep it.

*****RECEIVED Bauble*****

_A golden sphere given by the old lady in red that Maru saved. How—and why—would you spend it?_

*****OBTAINED Stick*****

_A strong, light stick that's good for channeling energy and using fancy moves with._

Nightsky City was a bustling city in the nighttime. Tired pedestrians filled the sidewalks, packed cars filled the roads, conversational buzz filled the air, and glowing skyscrapers filled the Unovan sky. The largish pokémon balanced on the spire of an old church, surveying the city with amazing violet eyes. His full cloak fluttered behind him in the cool night wind. After a time, he crouched and shot off through the night to wander.

#150: Mewtwo (MYUU-too). The Genetic Pokémon. Type: Psychic. Ability: Pressure (Doubles enemy PP usage). Length: 6' 7". Weight: 269 lbs. Color: Purple. Created by scientists as a weapon of war, this powerful Pokémon is also known as "The Moonlight Wanderer."

Mewtwo flew, going wherever he wanted. He decided to have a little fun—who was he kidding, he had a _blast_ whenever he flew—and impress the locals. Every night, the people of Nightsky City kept an eye on the sky for him. He's easy to spot, what with his trademark blue trail and flapping brown cloak. But he went _fast_, so all people saw of him when he wasn't standing was a light show. But they loved it. They also loved how, once in a while, a thinner pink streak accompanied his, though these days, it was only his trail they saw.

He looked at the city around him, and mapped out his line in only a few seconds. He streaked off. First, he flew straight, then, like a roller coaster already shooting along the track, dived instantly at an 85-degree angle towards the ground. At the last second before hitting the people below (scaring the shit out of them), he pulled up (using his abilities to counteract the physical forces that would have otherwise destroyed his body) and flew at a 45-degree angle from the ground, straight towards a pole sticking out the wall of a building, used for banners. It was bare now, so he grabbed it right as he passed it and, like a hyperspeed gymnast, flipped around it a couple times before slingshotting himself away, backflipping a couple times. Next, he turned in to some densely-packed buildings, dodging them as he flew along. He ducked under arches, soared over rooftops, and at the top of one building, he grabbed a thick antennae and spun around that before he slingshotted off again. And in his mind, the whole time, he was crying out in joy, _'THANK YOU GOD I CAN FLY!'_

He then went over the square of the city and did a few aerial stunts, turning loops and figures in the sky. The psychic residue trail left by his high psychic activity when flying so fast traced his path, and people down below looked up, pointing, some making ooh's and ahh's, like at a fireworks show. After a time, Mewtwo decided to go on a ride and went for the grand finale. He got into a tight loop, then, turning, another, and another, faster and faster, and so tight that he felt his blood rush all over his body from the centrifugal force generated by his flight, which traced out something like one of those orbiting pictures of atoms and the electrons around them. As he did so, he waited until he definitely heard sounds of admiration below, then shot out a loop towards a tall building looming over the square, his trail flaring a bit directly behind him.

He had to shake his head a bit to stop the dizziness, and he did so in time to pull to the side and up a bit of the building, lest he crash into it. He spiraled up the building, going to the top to the huge flagpole, which flew no colors at night. He at first spun around it so tight, it was as if he was shooting up it while holding it. Then he really did, and it was a large difference. He protected his paw against the friction as he spun to the top, at which he hiked his feet up and did an astounding upside-down multi axle, using the force of his speed to go into his spin and not into the upwards direction or anything off-course (though he still had to tweak himself somewhat via telekinesis), the trail ending in a burst as the speed went into spinning. He rose up at least 15 feet, still inverted, the city lights below illuminating his body and the cloak wrapped around him. Finally, coming down, at the last second, he flipped down, TK'ed the cloak off him quickly, and slammed his foot onto the round ball at the top of the pole. He spun around and around in a crouch, decelerating as he slowly stood, and then slammed his other foot down next to the first as the ride finally came to complete stop.

He stood and breathed, arms down and paws in fists, chest rising and falling as he panted from the rush. Below, he heard the crowd cheer. He looked down and smiled at them all, knowing none could see his face. Always modest, though, he turned and shot off into the night sky, slower so that he had no trail, but fast enough that he wasn't easily seen.

He panted and actually laughed a little as he sort of lounged, lying on his back mid-flight like how some people lie on their back on an inflatable mattress at a pool. 'That was more fun than I thought it would be!' he thought, smiling. 'Smiling...wow...' Mewtwo sighed. 'I never thought that I would find myself doing this for entertainment that does not involve fighting...wow...' He looked up at the sky, idly grabbing a roof's edge to sit down. He looked at the moon. '...How calm and humble I have become, living under the light of the moon,' he mused. 'I now do not look at humans so menacingly, use only psychic attacks—' (he now practiced physical attacks, and in fact recently began perfecting a self-taught style of swordplay) '—or erupt when I am faced with incompetence and such. I am a much more different Pokémon than I was when I awoke in that tube...'

Mewtwo looked at a three-fingered paw. 'I still do not wish to have any companions that I know personally, though, to see every day,' he admitted. 'I still desire to be alone. For that is what I am...' He gazed at El Luna again. 'Alone.' His calm face knitted its eyebrows and sloped its mouth down a smidge. 'I still have not discovered my purpose yet. It annoys me to no end. I am Mewtwo, the world's strongest Pokémon, and yet I know not WHY I am! Other pokémon were made to live in nature, or to be trained to do battle for their Trainers—their friends. But me...' His gaze drifted a bit. 'Was I...Was I truly destined to fight for someone so...?' The pokémon growled and shook his head vigorously. 'No, I have said it so many times! That cannot be my destiny!'

'Then what _is_ it?' he asked, almost talking to himself.

'I do not know yet,' he answered begrudgingly, looking away, down at the roof. 'Maybe to wander the skies of this city forever. I am content enough to do that.'

'But do I not feel restless? Feel...empty, somehow?'

'...Perhaps...just a little...'

'"Perhaps?" Who am I kidding? I do. I feel empty.'

'Yes. That place in my heart, where my purpose would fill it.' He put his right paw over his chestplate. 'A heart...Why do I even HAVE one? I was not born!'

'But, then, why did I let myself fall into that trap Giovanni set out for me, at Purity Canyon?'

'...I cared for my clones...but I made them, so I did not wish to see them hurt, my hard work ruined...'

'...Okay, so I can care. But...why? If my purpose was merely to fight, why allow me to CARE? Why give me the CAPACITY?'

He banged his right fist on the roof. ''Dammit!'' he said aloud in perfect Human. 'What is it that I am meant to do? A heart is a hindrance for one whose sole purpose is to do battle, and that appears to be the only thing I am good for! I cannot entertain with my psychic abilities for my life, nor would I want to, and my mind can only focus on battle, nothing else. That and flying a complicated course like I did. Flying? Is THAT my purpose? No! So stupid and useless! I love to fly, it is my only way to make myself feel good without having to kick someone's ass or blow something to smithereens, but that _cannot_ be all I am meant to do!' ' 'AAARRGGHH!' ' He shot off, holding his head while his face mirrored his torture within.

This happened a lot to the poor poké. Mewtwo would fly around, marvel at how he's changed since his "birth," and then go into what his purpose might be, eventually driving himself nuts and causing him to fly around aimlessly for an hour or so while he cooled down.

Tonight, though, was different. He was halfway through his cooldown when he heard a cry of pain below. He stopped, crouched over the edge of a building he landed on, and saw a young boy with wild black hair being beat up by some bigger kids...and their pokémon. 'They are _attacking_ him!' Mewtwo thought with alarm and disgust. Oh, he HAD to do something about this. An anger that he only recently had begun to find within him welled up at the sight of this. He growled and set to work.

One of the four bigger kids laughed. "C'mon, Kotetsu, we know you're a coward, so why don't you just let us toughen you up?" he asked. "Patrat, Tackle again!"

Kotetsu yelped again as the little rodent slammed into his crossed arms again. "Did _you_ guys get toughened up by beating up on each other with your pokémon like this?" he asked incredulously, glaring with fear and hatred at these bullies from his school.

Another kid laughed. "We sure did, scardy-Delcatty!" he said. "And these don't _hurt!_ They're just..._Tackles_, you know?" His little jigglypuff (search me) slammed into Kotetsu.

Kotetsu, by the way, was a young boy with dark blue eyes and huge, black, spiky hair that flowed back more than around. He dressed all in black t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, and currently bore some cuts and bruises on him. The jigglypuff was hard to evade or block, since it kept bouncing. It got him under his guard and knocked the wind out of him. "S-stooop..." he whined, getting up slowly. "Please...This hurts..."

A third kid smirked. "What if we say no? Or, better yet, Tackle?" he asked/commanded.

Somehow, Kotetsu managed to dodge the zigzagoon, ducking completely. "I'll...I'll..." He couldn't do ANYTHING. He couldn't bring himself to fight the pokémon—they're so small and weak, he knew that! He'd feel HORRIBLE! But...with all the pain he was getting...some_thing_ inside him wanted to hurt them back, Tackle with the force of a steam engine.

The fourth kid snapped his fingers. He was bigger than the others, and obviously the leader. The three others recalled their pokémon into their balls and cleared the way. The forth held his ball up. He hadn't gotten his pokémon out yet. "I think that's enough punishment for tonight for being a weak, cowardly, dumbass brat who doesn't know that saying all the answers in _every single class_ just really isn't the smart thing to do around here," he said. "Wanna rest on something nice and soft and warm?" he asked.

Kotetsu was looking down, panting, but at this, he froze. He was a clever kid when it came to these kinds of riddles. He knew exactly what the bully meant. The sound of the pokéball opening up and its inhabitant materializing came as he slowly raised his head. Two cream-colored, three-clawed feet underneath a deep olive body and cream belly. He looked up into the face of the overweight behemoth almost squeezing against the sides of the back alley.

"Snorlax!" it growled. It looked so passivly at Kotetsu, the boy gulped. (The snorlax, of course, didn't give a damn about anything at the moment, and was in fact groggy; hell, those things are ALWAYS groggy, with as much as they sleep.) To make matters worse, the bear-like creature's stomach growled.

The bully, unseen behind the fatso, grinned. "Laxative!" he shouted. "Body Slam!"

'~I hate that name,~' Laxative thought, sweatdropping, but did as he was told. Hey, it smelled like there was a few good leftovers in the garbage bags behind the kid, maybe he could get some out...

Kotetsu gazed, frozen on the spot, at the huge load bearing down on him, and screamed. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He turned his face down and covered it at the last moment, bracing for the pain and hoping for unconsciousness to escape it.

It never came.

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and gasped. A huge pokémon, wearing a brown cloak that covered it down past its feet, stood, holding one strange, ball-tipped-fingered hand out to keep Laxative at bay. With ease. Kotetsu blinked. "What the..."

' 'How _dare_ you set your pokémon upon another human being, you disgusting excuses for people!' ' a deep, commanding, and very angry voice boomed inside everyone's heads.

Everyone gasped and looked around, Laxative being the only one who actually knew what was going on. He blinked unbelievingly at the sight of this powerful pokémon holding him. "Lax-snorlax? Lax-snor-snoor, snorlax," he muttered panickedly, guessing at what was about to happen. "~Are you gonna hurt me? I didn't want to hurt the kid, honest.~"

' 'And I believe you,' ' Mewtwo replied more calmly only to the obese one. ' 'I will not harm you too much, but prepare to land on an uncomfortable bed...' '

"~Won't be the first time...~"

The bullies yelped when Laxative was sent right on top of them, landing on all four. Kotetsu laughed and shouted, "YEAH!" After a few seconds, Laxative returned (gratefully) to his ball, with four bullies, gasping and painfully getting up, glaring at Kotetsu...then looking up from the feet to the face of Mewtwo, fear and amazement growing on their faces as they did. "What the hell are YOU?" Laxative's trainer asked in a small voice.

Mewtwo glared and telekinetically picked the four up by the lapels, causing them to shout and make noise. He charged an energy ball in his other paw. ' 'Someone who would have killed you for what you have done were this mere months previous, that is WHO!' ' he shouted, and blew them away. The four boys screamed as they blasted off a la Team Rocket.

Kotetsu gazed in wonder at this pokémon, gaping. "...A...A...Are...Are you...?" he stuttered.

Mewtwo turned and crouched down slightly. ' 'Are YOU alright, should be what is asked,' ' he said, much more gentle than the furious, frightening form before. He didn't smile, but looked calm and relatively harmless, which is saying something with intimidating features like his.

Kotetsu gaped, getting the fact that this thing was talking, then nodded. "Th-thanks," he said.

Mewtwo nodded. ' 'My pleasure.' ' He glared over his shoulder where the boys were. ' 'I despise people like them. If they trouble you again, shout for help, and I swear I shall come. The sight of me should send them crying for their mothers.' ' He stood fully and turned.

"Wait!" Kotetsu called, holding a hand out. Mewtwo stopped, but didn't look back. Kotetsu lowered his hand a little. "What pokémon are you?" he asked.

Mewtwo paused. ' '...The strongest,' ' he decided, and shot off.

Kotetsu watched him go. "The strongest..." he repeated. Then, to his surprise, he found himself saying, "I wish that I was you...powerful enough to scare anyone...who scared me..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>~~~Kingdom Hearts Puzzle of Truth~~~<strong>_

* * *

><p><strong>Piece 1: Nightsky City<strong>

Mewtwo trained daily. Or nightly, more like. He goes to an area of the city, an old plaza with only two entrances, that is usually uninhabited. If it is, it's just hobos, and he scares the more drunk or stoned ones off (having great fun with the stoners beforehand). But he practices a fair bit nowadays with a sword using Psycho Cut. What got the world's most powerful pokémon to enjoy swordfighting so much?

Well, he was human once when he decided to—what the heck!—go see a circus. While there, he saw an amazing display of swordsmanship in many different styles. He had, believe it or not, never seen anyone swing anything even remotely sword-like except on what television he let himself see. (He would much rather read; the library was practically a second home for him—in fact, he ended up going there after saving the old woman in red.) Thinking that it would be an interesting skill to learn, he decided he would do just that, and so began practicing against psychically-generated foe-like targets using Psycho Cut. The sword was in the strain of the lightsabers used in Tenchi Muyo!, but more blade-like than Star Wars lightsaber-like. He held it in one paw, and, while he had to get used to being unable to fly (to be fair to most opponents), he began to become better on the ground exclusively.

Anyway, tonight, the night after he saved Kotetsu and that weird lady, he was practicing again. I will not spoil exactly what he does yet, but he does some pretty cool moves. Lately, he has been combining his psychic abilities, mainly telekinesis, to sort of play around with his sword by throwing it and bringing it back again. Sort of like a psychic yo-yo, if you will. He has even practiced a night or two with two swords, which, given his ambidexterity (well, he IS supposed to be the greatest fighter, and what if one paw was disabled?), worked quite well. Anywho, he was practicing at the moment.

Mewtwo rolled underneath a target as it charged at him, then leapt right after it upon getting to his feet. He slashed at it in mid-air, the force of his swing sweeping him into the air a little. (Truth be told, he actually helped a tiny bit when doing his aerial combos by boosting up with telekinesis a smidge.) After his chasing slash, which caused him to barrel roll, he rocked into his three-hit aerial combination attack.

First, a vertical diagonal-down slash, turning him right, then, switching paws, a horizontal going in the opposite direction of his spin (left) that stopped his spinning by canceling out the forces, then, right paw again, a finishing right-going horizontal that spun him around a bit quicker. As he landed, his psychic opponent burst into bits of colored light, which meant he'd beaten it. Another came behind him and he blocked with a barrier. Spinning around, he attacked his opponent.

' 'These targets are too simple for my skills,' ' he complained aloud, wishing he could have the creativity to create targets that behaved differently. ' 'If I only had REAL enemies to fight, new ones, ones whose attack styles I did not know, I would be an extremely happy pokémon.' ' The enemy burst apart before his blade.

An orange-haired hobo, lying passively on a bench and watching fearlessly, as he did some nights, chuckled and shrugged, shaking his head. "Can't help ya there, dude," he said in a mellow voice. "I haven't had pokémon for years. Otherwise I'd totally battle you."

Mewtwo smirked with a sideways glance to him. ' 'Then why not yourself, Ren?' ' he suggested in a darkly playful voice.

Ren sweatdropped and shook his hands, laughing nervously. "N-No, thanks, dude," he declined. "I know I'm one tough cookie for someone who lives on soup kitchens, but not...that..." His words slowed to a near halt as he looked down one of the two roads connecting to the disused circular plaza, arms flopping down. "...tough..."

Mewtwo dismissed his targets and looked where Ren's gaze was. A silhouette was walking down the abandoned street. Mewtwo narrowed his eyes with suspicion in an instant. 'What? They are well within my normal cautionary range, and I am reasonably alert at the moment,' he observed, puzzled, 'yet I did not sense them!' He focused on sensing the being specifically, and got into stance again. 'I cannot sense them at all! And they must see me already, so no use fleeing.'

Ren noticed his reactions and made a little frown. "Dude? You okay?" he asked.

' 'Ren, things might get a bit interesting here...You should probably leave,' ' Mewtwo sent, frowning as the being approached. Projecting his telepathy like a voice, he demanded, ' 'Who are you and what do you want?' '

The figure came forwards into the waxing gibbous light filling the area in that dark, abandoned part of the city. Mewtwo's suspicion heightened as he saw the being—and the mask it wore. It was large and looked like the head of a tentacruel, with black instead of blue and a malevolently dark purple instead of red. As well, the dome-like parts were dulled and did not reflect the light nearly as much as a tentacruel's shiny spots. The two wicked claws (black) came down from the round lower part of the mask (which was missing the eyes of the pokémon) and stopped partway down the chest. From the mask came a body-encompassing mantle of thick, black cloth that hung down to an inch off the ground in sewn-together semi-irregularly-cut pieces, forming a neat hem at the bottom. There were no visible clasps. The shoulders were large, smooth, shield-shaped pauldrons of what appeared to be metal with a non-reflective black coating. There were two flaps on either side that acted to cover the armholes. The figure stopped a few steps into the encircling road. It most have worn sneakers or no shoes at all, since its steps were very soft. It stood, looking at Mewtwo.

Mewtwo bared his teeth and shouted again, _' 'Who are you and what do you want?' '_

The figure chuckled deeply. Masculine. Then, shortly, in a nearly monotone, yet tinted with maniacal glee, voice, "Nobody."

Suddenly, in an almost dreamlike fashion, copies of the figure came from either side of its body and folded out from it, quickly sliding around the perimeter, mantles unaffected by the movement. Mewtwo and Ren, who was still sitting on his bench, looked around in surprise.

"You," the figure added a moment before the copies quit moving. As soon as all fourteen copies were in place, a purple ring of light whooshed up around them, leaving behind a brief trail of hexagons that faded out into nothing. Mewtwo grunted in slight alarm. 'I...do not like the feel of those walls...'

"'Ey! Down in front!" Ren protested to a copy in front of him, frowning and leaning to a side to look.

Mewtwo looked at Ren. ' 'Ren, get out of here, now!' ' he ordered him.

Ren nodded, getting up. "I know when it's about to hit the fan, dude, trust me!" he said over his shoulder as he skittered past a cloaked copy—and slammed right into an invisible wall. A field of purple hexagons spread from the point of impact. After getting up from the ground, Ren knocked the wall. More, smaller hexagons. "Uh-oh," he muttered, and he bit his lip.

Mewtwo scowled at this. 'A barrier,' he realized. 'Knew it.' He looked at the figure. ' 'Let Ren out—your quarrel is with me,' ' he commanded firmly, cutting his other paw across the air.

Another chuckle...but this time, it was a long, higher, menacing chuckle, not a simple amused chortle. "What, and lose the freebie?" he asked. He then quickly drew an arm with a submachine gun on it, the copies doing so as well. The arm was covered in a shallow, black kimono-style sleeve and the hand a black glove. Mewtwo noticed the copies were arrayed so that shooting straight across would result in nobody getting hit...except Ren, who was quickly getting back to his bench and behind one of the copies.

' 'Shit,' ' Mewtwo grimaced before teleporting out of the way of the bullets and into the air shortly above. 'I have to get rid of these things before—' he began thinking, flying up higher and escaping the bullets, putting up a Barrier around him and Ren below, but then he stopped, a crazy idea popping up in his head. He smirked and looked at the Psycho Cut still in his paw. 'Wait. I think I just got what I wished for...I shall deal with them using my blade.' He dropped down again to hover a couple inches off the ground. 'No high flight unless it starts to look hairy.' He reeled back his blade arm and tossed it at a figure. ' 'You asked for it!' ' he warned as he began to control the spinning sword with telekinesis.

The blade struck the figure and pushed it back, interrupting it. Mewtwo wasted no time in bringing the blade around at the others, cutting apart their guns. ' 'And no guns, you coward!' ' he added as he caught his sword again, lowering his Barrier. 'I know this is cheating a little, but I cannot just hold it outside my Barrier and slash without feeling like I was cheating even worse...' He dash-flew forwards to the first figure. '...not to mention stupid...'

His blade met a metal sphere with spikes on it, floating in midair. He grunted in surprise before twisting and ducking a flying spike ball that was aimed at his head. ' 'What the—?' ' He scowled upside-down up at the figure. ' 'What _are_ you?' ' he asked, spinning and giving a lefty slash at it.

It grunted and flinched as Mewtwo gave a quick three-slash combo that ended knocking him back. It then faded out—not the right one. "Can you not decipher it?" mocked the voice of the figure from his right. Mewtwo, ignoring the taunt, turned as soon as his foe had faded away so he could deflect a few spike balls with a quick Barrier, then flew around, charging into the fiends with strong, dashing diagonal up-right slashes. The other figures, after their guns had been destroyed, had decided to stay and manipulate a spiked ball each.

Mewtwo found that a good, strong slash could defeat the imposters in an instant. So, he simply dashed to each one in turn and gave his dashing slash. (He decided to use a strong slash instead of his sword-twirling dash attack to ensure they go down quickly.) 'This is too easy, but I must be pragmatic—this is no training scenario,' he told himself as he went.

He had to contend with occasional spike ball attacks, though his dash usually let him get past attacks without damage, and he could deflect them with a simple raise of his Barrier. Ren was shouting something at him as he went, and he felt a few impacts on the Barrier around the man when he dashed past, but he did not hear him and dismissed the impacts as stray spike balls. Within a minute, he had taken care of all the imposters. Which was all of them. Mewtwo suspected this might happen and turned with a backwards half-Barrier as soon as he had struck the final clone, looking up.

He tried to dodge, but the dark blast was already coming at him when he'd reached the final foe. "AAUUGHH!" he cried, cursing himself slightly that he could not sense THAT, either. 'Night Shade!' he grumbled as he fell to the ground. 'And a strong one, too...' He flipped up and regained his air-footing back to his hover and looked up. Nobody but the moon. This time, he dodged instinctively and turned. To his surprise, a completely black creature floated before his eyes. It was in the shape of a Mismagius, but entirely black. Its eyes were frightening circles of a white that, in the form it was applied to at the moment, seemed unholy...or at least not good. It made no sounds a Mismagius would, growling faintly with a gurgle. It moved lighting-fast, trying to escape to another point to strike with Night Shade, but Mewtwo followed it with his eyes easily.

"Did you not notice blasts falling behind you?" mocked the figure's voice, getting crueler with each line.

"THAT'S WHAT I WAS TRYING TO TELL YOU, DUDE!" Ren called to Mewtwo.

Mewtwo scowled and went for—another hit, this time a Faint Attack from the side as he flew up to face Mismagius. He grunted, caught off-guard in the attack, and couldn't avoid the next Night Shade. He turned to see an Absol on top of a building, also completely back with white, demented eyes. ' 'I have sensed Dark and Ghost types before!' ' Mewtwo complained aloud. ' 'Why can I not you and these..._monsters?' '_

He sensed a change in the air pressure and rolled to the side to avoid a volley of three spike balls shooting from below. He struck them away as they tried to chase him, unnervingly reminding him of how his own Monster Balls had determinedly chased their prey back on New Island. Below, the figure had reappeared, raising both arms up. It might have been another fake. 'They must all be projections of a sort—that must be why I cannot sense them and they disappear so,' Mewtwo reasoned in the back of his mind.

He now had to deal with floating spiked balls, Night Shade, and Faint Attack (which was hard enough to avoid as-is). Mewtwo flew off right as he was about to be double-teamed by spike balls and Night Shade and turned to fly backwards, trying to get into a good position where he could see all three assailants. The attacks came quickly and relentlessly, however, and he found himself spending more time blocking, dodging, and righting than maneuvering.

"Dude! Just teleport up high!" Ren shouted up at him.

Mewtwo glanced up. He sensed the cylindrical wall had a ceiling about 40 feet from the ground, but he had also noticed his enemies were not able to pass the barrier, either. ' 'I grow weary of this charade,' ' he agreed before blipping out.

A nanosecond later, he blipped back in, grunting in pain and flying towards the ground as if struck (which he had not been, for once). Surprise caused him to linger a little longer before flipping again, and he ended up almost at the ground again, nearby Ren.

"Dude! What happened?" the hobo asked, eyebrows raised and eyes wide in great surprise. "You malfunction or somethin'?"

' 'No, I...' ' Mewtwo began before raising a full Barrier to stop the strong attacks. ' 'The barrier around this area is able to repel my teleportation,' ' he sent to Ren. As the realization dawned on him, his pupils slowly shrank and he barely noticed the attacks hitting his own Barrier. ' 'There is...' '

"No escape." The figure's voice was nearly monotonous again as it summarized the situation. "Sides, top, bottom. No escape."

Mewtwo knew it was right. '...no...escape...' he thought. In the tiniest corner of his chest, to his absolute horror, he felt something he had never felt before...

Fear.

Fear that this time, if he were caught, there would be no escape. He could do nothing. No psychically kicking ass and escaping, shedding off armor as he flew. No annoyingly selfless kid with an official Pokémon League hat to bust restraints and chuck him at least 10 feet away into the center of a healing spring. He had to quit holding back, he realized, and fight these things off. He narrowed his eyes and looked up, eyes glowing faintly. More of those copies had appeared and were hammering his Barrier with spiked balls while the pokémon-shaped creatures hit him with Night Shade and Shadow Ball. ' 'Playtime has ended,' ' he declared darkly.

His Barrier brightened as he pushed it into impenetrable mode—it would take a pair of level 100 machamp to Brick Break their way through. He flew up into the center of the cylinder. Once there, he calmly grabbed all ten copies' heads, thrust them apart wide, then thrust them together into a circle. A sickening _CRRACK! _was heard as their skulls and masks collided, as was Ren's laughter. But as Mewtwo tried to grab the two enemy pokémon-like things, both the laughter in his heart and in Ren's throat died. Mewtwo could not grab them!

"THEY'RE STILL THERE, DUDE! ...What the...?"

Mewtwo glanced down. The copies were struggling up...and they changed. From black-cloaked beings, they turned suddenly into strange, insubstantial silvery-white ghost-like things. And they all looked like their eraser-shaped head was open...unzipped.

Ren was paralyzed with fear, and Mewtwo was with shock and confusion. He growled and clenched both fists, clenching everything on his face. ' 'What...the hell...is _going on?_' ' he roared, opening his eyes to reveal blue-glowing triangles. He released a blast of energy and slammed it all into everything around. They all reeled back, all loose debris slamming up to the walls of buildings or into the mysterious hexagonal wall for that which went down the alleyways. But the white things disappeared in silvery-white clouds. The pokémon-things' fates were unknown, as the light was too bright to see them. Mewtwo finished, looking around. Nothing. And then, he heard a soft clapping behind him.

"Well done, Mewtwo. You will certainly do quite nicely."

' 'Y—' ' Mewtwo began, spinning to face who he heard must have been the real figure. He met a blast of a kind of energy he had never before encountered. Where it came from, he could not see—he assumed the mysterious figure. All he could see was the white energy cord that enveloped him. _"' 'AAUUUGGHHH!' '" _he cried, psychically and physically. This pain was worse than when he was paralyzed by Giovanni.

Ren yelped below. "DUUUUDE!" he cried. "LOOK OUT!"

Mewtwo unsqueezed an eye to look down, and saw, to his further panic, one of the figures floating six spiked balls...that became Rocket Balls. And they were being aimed at _him_, this time around, instead of tauros or other rare pokémon.

'No...' The balls came closer. That energy was disabling all but telepathy.

'_No..._' Memories of when he was Giovanni's unwitting slave came back.

_'NO...' '_ Capturing those trainers' pokémon, realizing he was no better...

_**' 'NO!**_ I WILL _NOT_ BE CAPTURED! RRR_RR__**AAAH**__HH!' '_ he roared. But try as he might, he knew he was screwed. He used all the power he could. It was thankfully working, but not enough. He had to focus his entire being on freeing himself.

The balls struck, almost causing Mewtwo to have a heart attack from the emotions he was feeling at the time...but instead of capturing him, he felt something far more valuable enter those balls. As his body glowed dark orange, not red this time, from six balls capturing, he could feel, instead of his body, his _powers_ being drained away! His skills. Strength, both mental _and_ physical. His knowledge of moves. And even his memories.

_**"!"**_

'_No!_ What is _happening _to me? My memories, powers, _everything!_ They're _stealing_ them! Stealing them away from me! _Where? Who? How? WWHHYY?'_

As these thoughts raced through his brain, he could have sworn—though his vision was blurring and his memories flashed past his eyes as they became sucked into the balls floating and capturing—that he saw a perfect, cartoon conception: A beautiful, pink, glowing, and let's not forget as big as his head, heart rise from within his chest. As it slowly came out, he felt colder. 'A...heart?...Why...'

The stars went out.

'...y...'

The moon disappeared.

'...I...'

The energies dimmed away.

'..._Ai_...'

Suddenly, he felt his body explode. The glowing of the balls stopped abruptly. The heart (which had been almost entirely out of his chest at that point), the balls, the figure below, all became lost in the white light that burst from his body. Someplace, he heard a person he knew cry something beginning with 'd.' Someplace, he heard a strange voice curse. But one place he knew where, he heard a familiar, yet new voice...that of a young girl's...

' 'You...remember me?...' '

His body felt odd. His chest felt warmer. And all went white.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

"...de? Dude? Hey, dude? You awake? You okay? _Dude?"_

_"Uuhhnnnn..."_ Mewtwo groaned and opened his eyes slowly. He saw someone over him, blurry at first. He blinked a few times, and then rubbed his eyes. Finally, Ren came into view, hunched over his body and looking a bit worried. The sky was back to normal, and as far as he coud tell, the figure was gone. Ren's face, usually mellow and easygoing, but always covered with a thick red-head beard and adorned with bagged, dark blue eyes, was now worried and amazed at the same time.

"Hey, dude, you okay?" Ren asked, now backing off a bit to sit down on his feet as Mewtwo got up. "You fell a long way...You sure you don't got brain damage or something now?"

Mewtwo groaned and shook his head, closing his eyes. ' 'No, but I hope not,' ' he said.

Ren cocked an eyebrow. "Huh? Did you say something? I thought I heard _some_thing, but it was, like...I think I imagined hearing something..." he mumbled.

Mewtwo opened his eyes, eyebrows bringing together worriedly. He looked at the hobo. ' 'I said, 'No, but I hope not,'' ' he tried again.

Ren blinked. "Dude..." he said after a bit. "Could you speak up? I can't barely hear you."

Mewtwo gasped. He remembered, all in a flash, the scene previous. He looked at his body and froze. 'Since...since when did I...use Transform...?' He was in his human form, complete with the outfit that he always transformed into. He, thankfully, still had his cloak, albeit in its cut-down version, and assumed he had his items, if the stick ilying next to him meant anything. He patted his body with his five-fingered hands. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. "I did not use Transform, did I?" he asked, turning to look at the homeless man.

Ren shrugged. "I guess you did," he said slowly. "I dunno. I saw a bright light, then you falling like a rock. I caught you, but my arms were just a bed on the ground. I had to dive for you, and it didn't really do jack diddly-squat." He looked down. "Sorry..."

Mewtwo groaned and felt his head. Great, a goose-egg. That would explain the intense pain he felt there. "That is okay, Ren; I am at least alive," he assured. 'I do not know about 'fine' or not, though...' He got up. "I think I shall retire the night," he muttered. He took his weapon and then tried Transform.

Here, he froze stock still.

Ren came over after ten seconds of the dude not moving. "Dude? What's up?" he asked. "You're gonna get big and purple again, right, so...What's the holdup?" He raised a hand, then let it fall as he saw his acquaintance's expression.

Mewtwo's eyes were as wide and unblinking as a venomoth's, and his jaw was partly open. After a few seconds, he croaked, "...I...I...for..got...Transform..." He slowly turned to face the human. Ren stepped back, greatly startled. He had never seen an expression of pure horror and fear on the pokémon's face, human or otherwise. "...along with...every...thing..."

An awkward, age-spanning twelve seconds of silence enveloped them. Finally, Ren spoke. "That's funny," he said, not laughing. "Good one, dude. You? Losing your powers?" He tried laughing halfheartedly, but it didn't really come out much more than a "heh." Ren had seen Mewtwo, without ever learning his name, in his training for a while now. He knew the pokémon's power.

Mewtwo clenched a fist. He turned to a broken piece of brick from the skirmish. He held his hand out and tried hard. _Very_ hard. He strained, causing a pain in his brow from squeezing it. Sweat appeared. Finally, a faint flicker of ice blue energy shone in his eyes and around the brick piece. It was faint. He closed his hand and tried to lift it. And found he couldn't. He let go and fell to one knee, gasping for breath. A cold sweat dripped from him. The horrible realization came to him as he panted. 'I...I cannot...do anything...'

Ren clapped. "Well, at least you can do _something_," he reassured him, smiling. He came over and patted Mewtwo's back. "You could at least grab that brick bit."

Mewtwo panted and stood up, holding his head. "I...know now why I have...such a headache," he panted. "I...have no access...to...my powers...anymore..." He panted and looked at his arms. "Nor...do I feel...as much physical...strength...either," he added. He felt tears welling up in his eyes, and this frightened Ren the most. He had never seen anyone this proud cry before. Mewtwo clenched his fists and looked down, letting his arms down to his sides. Classic Ash pose. "No..." he breathed. He was shaking. Tears began to run down his face and gather, ticklingly, at the tip of his nose. "This...cannot be..."

"Dude...?" Ren whispered, but didn't come closer out of social instinct.

A tear from tears fell from Mewtwo's nose. "I...am nothing...I remember...what I could do...and how to do a minuscule amount of those things..." Another tear. "Telekinesis, telepathy, and how to check my own level..." Another tear. With a suppressed sob, Mewtwo whispered something that scared himself more than it could ever do to Ren.

"As of now...I am only at level 1."

Ren gaped as he saw a pokémon whose pride he made apparent to everyone he let meet him, a pokémon whose heart he tried to keep hidden deep within, begin to cry. Mewtwo first sobbed. Then another. Then he broke down and cried. 'My life...is worthless...'

And it was all Ren could do to come over and put an arm around the young man. He said nothing, for fear it would make things worse. He knew not what to say that wouldn't. So he just stayed, being there for the young man. He half-expected it when Mewtwo, totally distraught, cried into the hobo's lap, like a child to his mother.

Day 1

* * *

><p>~Author's Notes~<p>

For those of you who are new here, welcome. For those who are coming from the old version, welcome back, and sorry for doing this. It's just that, looking back, I know I can do far better, but I've come too far to just stop. I'm going to finish this thing someday, college and job-hunting (and video games) be damned. (And work, if I ever find any.) And I'm gonna do it as best as I can.

I understand that doing a fic where the characters go through Disney worlds like a KH game isn't that wonderful an idea so close to the release of Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (behold, I have just dated this fic, ready to make me groan when I look back on it!) is not the best of approaches, but...at current, I have no idea how they're gonna go through them, and I doubt they'll go through them the same way I'm going to. Besides, I don't want to have wasted the past week spent planning this rewrite—and the past few years chipping away at this! I want to have fun, and as the many fans of the original (and many more of its first and only spinoff) make it clear, you guys obviously do, too.

In the interest of time and a bit of sanity, I'm going to be doing things a lit-tle differently this time...for example, doing something I've been putting off for WAY too long.

No, I don't mean going through the chapters and making omakes. I'm going to do that anyway, of course—none this time, sadly, due to lack of characters. :(

Anyway, thank you all for reading this and I hope that this rewrite (well, more like 60-edit-40-rewrite) works out well! Look forward to the end of this fic in...Mewtwo?

Mewtwo: *temporarily granted his powers again, looks into the future*...2021!

2021, folks! Straight from the cat's mouth! Let's hope I'm not living in Sealab at that time, 'cuz if I am, I'm _screwed!_ (...How many of you got that reference?)

Okay, common sense request: When you finish a chapter, if you've got a bit of time and have something to say, talk about it in the comments! Just try not to be _too_ spoileriffic, natch n-n;

Naija: Quit your jibber-jabbering and get out of the water!

Okay, you're right. I'll shut up...

…

Mewtwo & FT: Wait, where'd _you_ come from? You're not even _in_ this fic! Heck, you're—

Naija: *bwasts 'em quiet in Energy Form before fleeing*

* * *

><p>(Behold the power of free writing at 11:50 PM, folks!)<p>

**There's a walkthrough for this chapter! **Check it out at **ferretrip **dot **wikia **dot **com **slash **wiki **slash **Walkthrough_****1** and view the chapter through a player's eyes.

As well, I'm editing this fic a little bit. From now on, whenever a character speaks and s/he's not speaking Human, "~the dialogue looks like this, with ~'s around them, to denote that what's being said is translated.~" This is because there will be a good number of pokémon and other non-human characters who speak Human/"Common" (for worlds without humans) and some who don't.

EDIT: Added the day. I originally had this line at the end:

(Of course, afterwards, Mewtwo said that if Ren spoke to anyone of this egregious lapse in composure, the hobo would be out of more than just house and home.)

But I decided to remove it because it ruins the scene. Also edited the title to match with Kingdom Hearts subtitle practice (read: removed the colon).


	2. MO01: U Can Learn III Things Before Bed!

A few days passed, Mewtwo—whom shall now be referred to by his human alias, Maru, until further notice—still sleeping in his own room and on a normal cycle (wake up around noon, stay up to anywhere from two to four in the morning). He could easily climb up to his home in human form, but he couldn't jump nearly as high anymore. (Not to say he couldn't jump higher than a normal human being; he could clear a good five or six feet.) _These_ weren't the worst things, though. _Those_ were these questions:

1—What the _fuck_ was _up_ with that night?

2—What _were_ those things—those black pokémon?

3—Why did they only steal his power?

4—What was that heart-like thing that had appeared from his chest? Was that...was that his actual..._heart_...? And was it gone now, or was it rescued in time?

5—Why didn't he feel as completely warm within himself as he normally did, ignoring him currently being downer than down?

6—Who _was_ that stranger? Why was he so erratic? What did he mean, he "would do nicely"?

Maru shrugged off these thoughts, focusing on the new life he had to lead. He had decided to go do odd jobs to generate cash in the absence of his psychic powered pickpocketing's power source—and these jobs were very odd, indeed: Locating lost purrloins and lillipups, help the police capture some less-cooperative criminals around town, put up posters for the upcoming Dance of the Moon festival, and other different tasks. Truth be told, he actually had a lot more fun making money this way than by simply stealing money from wealthy people about town. Though this joy was hampered by depression and frustration, the fact that the criminal-catching job's fights gave him experience was _fine _encouragement.

He would sometimes trek all the way to Ren, who had by then become a very close ally, especially in this trying time. Ren talked with him and gave him some much-needed moral support. Maru still ate out at cheap restaurants, seeing as he didn't have a fridge or pantry to put food into. The afflicted pokémon survived, living life in a blur as the days went by.

One incident that _didn't _end up a smudge in the blur was the final Wednesday of the month. That day was one Maru would remember for quite some time...

**-:VvVvV:-**

Day 4**  
><strong>

Deep in the heart of Nightsky City sat a small, grey office building. Its sign's logo formed the words, "Kely Systems," in lines that began on one end with a plug and ended on another with an ethernet jack.

"Come on, Purple Carrot Top, hurry up, already!" a testy, seasoned voice demanded.

"Sir, would you _please _call me _Maru_," replied a bothered, younger voice.

The bland building stood only four stories above ground...but it stood eight below. Each floor was covered with computers, servers, and people tapping away at keyboards. On the bottom floor sat the largest room, lit dimly by blue lights, and the largest computer. On a large, wall-mounted monitor, lines and lines of code scrolled by. Other smaller monitors on the sides of this one displayed different sets of data, many of them red or yellow. At the huge console sat a very focused Maru, typing away on the huge keyboard and frowning in focus up at the monitor. Beside him stood a squat, balding man in a white lab coat and a grey, eye-obscuring visor. This man was crossing his arms, frowning in impatience, and tapping his foot. "We're not paying you to do what every single other techie we've hired's done—end up fooling around and saying that there's nothing you can do," this man complained.

Maru paused for a moment, breathing deeply. 'Do not lash out—you are far from strong enough to kick his ungrateful aft end,' he told himself. He could not help retorting, "If you are this impatient for a good job, why not just employ a porygon, Mr. Kely?"

Mr. Kely tilted his head, raising an eyebrow. "A porygon...?"

_He remembered the other day, where he was buying a pokéball from someone, angrily shelling out a lot of cash. "You guys are extortionists!" he had accused. "This much for a level _one?"

_"These things aren't easy to make, y'know!" the suited man giving him the ball had defended, frowning. "We put a lot of care into making each of these unique yet exceptional!"_

_"A lot of good this will do me right now, but it's still the cheapest one like it outside the black market," Mr. Kely had grumbled, pocketing the ball._

"She!_ We gave it a gender to enhance its personality!" the other man had corrected indignantly, holding up a fist._

_"What use is an anti-virus with a strong personality? It'll just interfere with its duties!" Mr. Kely had shot back coldly._

_Inside the ball, a porygon2 had heard this and made a sad face (no mouth, no frown). "..."_

(Vertex, 0, Female personality; Level 1 Anti-virus Porygon2)

_The other man had then smirked, crossing his arms. "Oh, you'll see, Mr. Kely," he had said playfully. "You'll see."_

Mr. Kely grimaced, then looked at Maru again, back in the present. "Just be happy you've got a job," he avoided, frowning.

Maru raised an eyebrow at this, but looked up again and resumed typing, frowning in focus once more. A bit of key-clacking later, he stopped, smirking, as the lights on the monitors turned from reds and yellows to green. "There," Maru said, crossing his own arms. "All patched up. Your and your clients' files should be safe now. Just..." He raised an eyebrow at him and warned sternly, "Mr. Kely, make certain you always use a _very _secure connection with this core terminal. No using it to surf the web or play games or anything." He closed his eyes. "But, assuming you have not before, smart man the head of the company you are, the patch I created should hold you for a good while."

Mr. Kely suddenly raised his eyebrows and gritted his teeth in a "yeek" face, sweatdropping. "Um..."

Maru opened his eyes to read his expression, then narrowed them. _"Mr. Kely...?"_ he addressed, like an adult to a child who is about to get in trouble. "What is it...?"

Suddenly, alarms began going off. The lights turned red. On each screen popped up red warning messages, the final being on the main screen: "Warning: Advanced virus detected. Unable to address with current anti-virus."

'And they have the most recent,' Maru grumbled, turning back to Mr. Kely, who was sweatdropping even more, now, and half-eyed at him. "_Tell _me you did not..."

Mr. Kely pressed his fingertips together. "Well, um, I just...wanted to play Farm Country Ultimate on such a big screen," he confessed in a small voice.

Maru slowly facepalmed. "That virus is probably going to eat all the files your company has on clients," he wearily said in prognosis. "And you just _have _to be one of those companies that holds everything from regional ID to shoe size." He paused a second before giving his diagnosis: "We _need_ a porygon."

Mr. Kely paled. "B-But the one we have is brand-new! It doesn't have enough experience with—" he began.

Maru raised his head sharply, giving a full-on Mewtwo Glare. _"NOW!"_

A few moments later, Mr. Kely reluctantly opened a pokéball at the console, an unsure expression on his face. 'We're screwed,' he though as he let the pokémon out.

The light flashed out of the ball and disappeared into the machine. Inside the computer's virtual world, the porygon2 appeared in a flash of numbers and light. One tiny bead of light in particular shot away into the computer. She looked around it excitedly. "~Oh, boy, my first time fighting a virus!~" she squealed happily (in her own language). She suddenly recalled the other day:

_"What use is an anti-virus with a strong personality?"_

'~And guess who was programmed to have a stronger-than-porygon2-normal personality?~' She gulped and glanced over her shoulder, where she knew the camera was watching. That little bead of light ended up being a small program activating that output what she saw to the users. She could feel Mr. Kely watching her, no confidence in her whatsoever. '~I have to show him I can debug like a pro, or...he might just replace me...!~'

"~Hmmm...~" Vertex muttered as she looked around. The stereotypically basic and brightly-colored virtual world was flashing with red and yellow. Straight graphlike lines sometimes ended in zigzag ends. And swarming everywhere were little, grey, cube-shaped, bug-like things with six little slate feet, tile-like white little blue wings, and a monitor with simple yellow lines in a :3 face. They actually looked kind of cute. But they were clogging the portals to different parts of the computer and chowing down on pieces of cyberspace, their faces turning green and very happy (E3) and growing mandibles for this. "~...There's already a lot of damage...I'd better find the—~"

Suddenly, one of the bugs spotted her. Its face turned red and angry, with little wedges for eyes and an upturned v for a mouth. "ANTI-VIRUS," it chirped in an adorable little monotone voice that was louder than anything.

All of the bugs in the room stopped. Then turned, red faces on, at Vertex. "ANTI-VIRUS," they all chorused, cute voices turning creepy.

As they rose up to form a cloud of red and grey, Vertex's smooth, bright body paled. "~—exit!~" she squeaked before turning around and starting to fly out. She slammed into something right away. "~—Oof!~"

The portal back outside was blocked by a wall of bugs, literally—each connected their squared bodies together to form an impenetrable wall. Vertex paled all the way to white, eyes wide as she saw her only way out sealed. "~Viruses aren't pokémon,~" she murmured. "~Viruses don't KO...they...~" She gulped, sweatdropping. "~..._delete...~"_

Outside, on Vertex's window, Maru and Mr. Kely watched this scene with dread. (Only Maru could tell what she was saying, since she had to address users directly to relay messages in Human.) "She is going to get killed..." Maru whispered morosely. 'I jumped the gun...Dammit, if only these cheapskates had paid for a well-trained one...A fresh one? For this big a company? What were they _thinking?'_

The new porygon2 shook in midair with fear as her programming was pushed aside by her powerful AI's emotions. '~Deletion...Rejection...Analysis indicates a 40% chance of either being the outcome of this scenario...!~' "O..."

Mr. Kely frowned. "Wait, what's that it's doing?" he wondered.

_"Ou..." _Vertex clenched her eyes shut and bowed her head low, ignoring queries from her inner programming as her words of despair metamorphosed.

Maru frowned, too. "I have no..." he began before sensing something. He raised an eyebrow. 'Wait...I could tell that psychic probing signature anywhere...What is she...?'

(Author's note: Old readers, yer prolly gonna _hate_ me for this if you don't know what's going on already...n.n;; )

Vertex whipped up her head and did the weirdest, most random thing (even for a porygon2)—she cried out in desperation and pain,

"_**OOUUEEEEENNDAAAAAAAAANN!"**_

**-:-:-**

Maru sensed it, but they could not see it on the screen. Something had just Teleported in. At the same time, for some reason, gentle Electronica music began to play on the speakers.

Meanwhile, in cyberspace, three figures appeared in a flash of light, having been Teleported in. As Vertex was behind a pretty solid swarm of bugs, she couldn't see who had come in. She couldn't hear more than a muffled sound. A sudden snippet of drums interrupted the slowly crescendoing music.

**-:-:-Quit Bugging Me! Fight the Infection, Soldier!-:-:-**

Vertex's programming took over again, and despite her emotions, she swept the area with a scanning sheet of pinkish-purple light. A readout of the area appeared before her in a window—it was a map. "~I have to get through to the mainframe, but...~" She looked up at the swarm of bugs looking evilly hungry at her. "~...how?...~"

Suddenly, cutting through the noise of the bugs, right at another interrupting drum snippet, came a sound, loud and clear:

**"""OSU!"""**

And just like that, a fire ignited within Vertex's heart and eyes and, to the trained eye, around her body. She held her nose up resolutely and spread her feet a bit wide, green data screens floating around her. "GOOOOOOOOOO—!"

As the outsiders looked on at the sudden extreme spurt of confidence in confusion, their eyes widened to their fullest with surprise as the strangest sight of all met them. Pushing Vertex's screen up, another screen popped up, black. A surprised squeak of bugs was heard as three figures skidded onto the screen. One came from the left and stopped in the middle, while two others came from the right and stopped on either side of the first, looking a bit behind it. They stood with their feet together and their hands down before them, left holding right fist. It only took the scant few seconds they remained still for the others to look at them. They couldn't believe their eyes.

They were three pokémon. Dressed in what appeared to be highly stylized brown gakurans with green cuffs and armbands, brown, basic sandals, and white, cut-tipped gloves.

The middle—they assumed the leader—was a dragonite wearing a blue baseball cap with a black bill, cap forwards. Its antennae and topknot poked through holes made in the cap. To its left was an ursaring (whose gloves had no fingers period), and to the dragonite's right was a feraligatr. All three were a fair bit skinner than normal, and all three wore stern faces.

**"IKOIA!"—""IKUZE!"" **they went in powerful voices. Maru saw the dragonite mouth different words from the other two—that must have been the female, the only one who said, "Ikoia." As soon as they said that, a green background appeared behind them bearing a symbol that the group partially obscured. It appeared to be a white ball with a top half made of fire. Then, they counted down with the song's beat. **"""SAN! NI! ICHI! SURE!"""**

_- Ka-mi-a-u –fighting pose A-i-re-nn-mo-su-ku-u-ki-na-i_

_- Mu-ko-u-gi-shi-ma-e-no-a-i-wa-ro-su-ta-i-mu_

_- Ma-i-na-su-ta-shi-te-su-to Pu-ra-su-e-shi-ko-u-tu-bu-su-mi-ra-i  
><em>

_- *record scratch* (koroko...roko...roko...(etc.))_

_- *instrumental*_

As soon as the very soft, relaxed lyrics to Cube Juice's "III" began—so soft and relaxed, nobody posted the lyrics; stay tuned for more updates on those—the trio began to dance in what soon was apparent to be a greatly expanded form of Japanese male cheerleading. In short, Vertex had gotten exactly what she wanted—ouendan. As soon as they began dancing, the background disappeared and revealed them to be in the middle of cyberspace, cheering from atop a dense cluster of bugs. When they stopped, they reverted back to their standby positions and their screen faded out to black.

Above them, on Vertex's screen, they saw her progress from a side and slight above view angled somewhat towards the screen. At first, she was floating through at a moderate speed, narrowly avoiding the bugs dive-bombing her from different angles. She looked determined, but nervous sweat beaded her brow, and she looked frightened with each dodge. The cyberspace around her was mostly orange.

Then, for a very brief moment (the "Pokédan", as Maru decided to term them in his head, coincidentally doing a move a decent bit early a phrase before), Vertex was stopped in her tracks as a swarm of bugs surrounded her and nailed her one after the other, knocking her about like a toy. Her pupils formed X's during this. If it wasn't so important that she succeed, it would have been a bit comical. The cyberspace that was visible was mostly red.

She was normal again after that, but only briefly. Soon, Vertex was suddenly charging forwards at breakneck speed, zipping out of the way of bugs that were more in her way than trying to attack her. She was dodging so quickly, she left translucent afterimages of herself. Her eyes were nothing but fiercely determined white wedges. The surrounding cyberspace was mostly yellow. She kept like this most of the way through, switching back to her slower pace occasionally, until the instrumental ended.

A wall of bugs covered the portal to the mainframe, as well. They glared at Vertex angrily as she approached. "~Oh, no, the port!~" she exclaimed.

"~I've gotta break through...!~" the porygon2 muttered as she flew through cyberspace at it, eyes narrowing in a way that gave the impression she'd be frowning determinedly if she had a mouth. Despite this, she couldn't help sweatdropping. Then, she blasted forward at top speed, eyes squeezed shut and body straightened like a dart. _"Poryyyyyy...!"_

The wall snickered in a jeering way.

_"...GON!" POW! _Vertex came flying through the other side of the wall, blowing a number of bugs away with her. She did a victorious little roll as she zoomed along the white tunnel representing the way to the mainframe. "~I did it!~" she chirped. Speaking more mechanically—a message box appearing on her screen as she did, addressing the users—she declared, **"Login successful."**

Maru wiped his brow in relief. "She survived..." he muttered.

Mr. Kely raised his eyebrows. "Impressive..."

A circle appeared on the Pokédan's screen for some reason.

—**O—**

_(- *instrumental cont.*)_**  
><strong>

_(- I-wa-na-i-yo-u-na-me-i-mo-nn-ku-wo-shi-te-ha-na-su-ji-ta-i)_

_(- A-ma-e-da-su-ko-nn-na-ego-wo-to-o-su-a-i-te-mu)_

Vertex quickly came out at the mainframe, the speed of the tunnel making her bowl through another wall of bugs without trying. "~Let's see...~" she muttered (back to normal) as she exited, sending out a sweeping scan. The mainframe was represented by a huge, blue (but currently flashing red now and then) spherical chamber covered with portals—ports to each connection to the mainframe. She widened her eyes at the sheer size of it and the number of (happy) bugs swarming around, flying into and out of each portal, while she scanned. (Maru felt another Teleport and furrowed his brow. 'The Pokédan, I bet...')

"~So many...~" she whimpered. The scan finished and data flashed across her eyes. **"AnalyComplete," **she narrated, cutting off her announcement of "Analyzing...". She blanched, eyes going comically huge and perfectly circular and pupils becoming pinpricks. "~'Destroy all the bugs in the mainframe and see which portals they constantly come from?'~" she repeated her "mental" instructions incredulously. Even as she spoke, windows popped from her bodies and zipped to various areas of the room, presumably to monitor each portal for constant outflow. "~You're outta your vector!~"

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the screen focused on the Pokédan sliding in with a white background. The backup urasring and feraligatr stood with arms held behind their backs while the lead dragonite raised her fists, "pinkie" claws forwards, in a high and sharp V, spread her wings out wide, and puffed her chest out a bit in a powerful pose. All three gave a stern-faced """OSU!""", and Vertex was aflame once more. As soon as she was on fire again, they reappeared on their screen, fading in from black. When the background reappeared, they were on another group of bugs.

_- Ku-mo-wo-tu-ka-mu-yo-u-na-so-u-zo-u-wo-ma-su-a-i-ro-ni_

_- Wa-ra-i-da-su So-nn-na-na-i-yo-u-wa  
><em>

_- I-tsu-mo-ki-ta-i-ni-so-tta-su-ro-u-ra-i-fu..._

_- Wa-zu-ka-mu-ka-u  
><em>

_- Mu-sa-be-tsu-no-yo-a-ke  
><em>

_- O-mo-i-da-su-ko-to-wo-o-mo-i-da-su  
><em>

_- Ro-u-te-syo-nn-game  
><em>

_- O-mo-i-da-su-yo-ru Sa-i-go-wa  
><em>

_- *instrumental*_

The Pokédan appeared to be cheering not just in rhythm to the lyrics during the chorus, but also the busy instrumental part, particularly during long notes and breaks. As they cheered, Vertex set to work, camera staying in one place while she moved around the room. She decided to use Tackle to deal with the bugs, which now included ones armed with head-mounted miniature square-barrel cannons that fired red laser shots. She zipped around, charging into bugs, flying off the screen as she plowed through them, only to reappear half a second later from a different position to intercept a bug that had flown on-screen from another direction. A gunner bug would occasionally fire a shot at her, which missed as she passed by, thankfully, and the bug would promptly be Tackled. Each bug she bashed disappeared in a cloud of numbers and pixels. The room's colors were the same as before—blue with occasional pulses of red.

Then, she didn't quite defeat a bug, and was soon moving side to side, dancing frantically to evade a wall of maliciously smiling gunner bugs. The room pulsed red and blue regularly.

She quickly picked herself up and got back in the game, Tackling them again, before doing even better than her already good pace: Wild-eyed, she grabbed a square quartet of gunner bugs from behind with her feet and head and held them out, making them fire pink, not red, blasts constantly. She stayed in one place and turned in different directions each time a group of other bugs came to attack from behind or the side. She even aimed so that a blast destroyed any blast coming at her! Meanwhile, the room's color was entirely blue, no red pulses. Vertex, again, shifted between this and her medium-energy actions throughout the section of the song, mostly staying with the best one. (It was actually quite easy to lose her grip on so many bugs if she wasn't careful.)

Vertex panted, sweaty-faced. "~This is tough...Huh?~" She looked to the side when a status window popped up. "~I found it!~" She turned to face the proper port portal, out of which poured a steady stream of bugs.

"~I'll do more byte bashing in here after they stop coming,~" she told herself as she soared off, leaving some bugs behind. She was stopped by a swarm of blaster bugs that had just arrived. There was a brief pause as they looked at each other. Behind them, she saw the waterfall of bugs. "~Uh...~" she muttered, thinking.

In an instant, Vertex was flying through the tunnel, one bug under her chin, shooting forwards and down at the stream, and another between her feet, shooting back at any pursuers. "~Y'know, for viruses, you guys are kinda useful!~" she laughed, eyes narrowed mischievously.

In the real world, Maru smirked in amusement and held his chin in thought. 'That is a pretty useful trick,' he mused.

Mr. Kely was raising his eyebrows, mouth open a little. He quickly looked to the side, adjusting his visor glasses. "I-It's got a good learning program, that's all," he dismissed hurriedly.

—**O—**

_(- *instrumental cont.*)_

On the other end of the port tunnel was another spherical room in cyberspace covered with port portals, but not as many this time. The room was glowing an angry red, and on the blocky floor sat a giant, polygonal beast. It looked like, fittingly enough, a 20-sided-polyhedron virus. It sat in a large pedestal, eight tentacle-like arms growing from it and creeping into differently-colored port portals. An array of blocks with a big black square on one side floated around it and sat on the floor, probably turrets. From little doors on the pedestal popped out the bugs.

"~Aha!~" Vertex crowed as she entered (alone). A sub-program of hers activated, sending magma-patterned panes of light to block out all exits currently unoccupied by an arm, including the way out. **"Virus located and quarantined," **she announced.

She paled to white again when she realized that she was now in a room filling up with bugs and already full of turrets and a few angry arms. **"C...Commencing virus...d-deletion..." **she gulped. "~(Mommyboard...)~"

(Another teleport. 'That HAS to be her signature!')

"""OSU!"""

_- *instrumental cont.*_

_- Sa-i-bo-u-wo-tsu-ta-u-rhythm-mo-stupid  
><em>

_- O-i-ko-shi-te Ko-u-shi-te  
><em>

_- Pa-bu-ro-hu-no-i-nu-ka-stupid  
><em>

_- Ho-nn-no-u-e-i-e  
><em>

When the Pokédan came back this time, they stood on a spot on the floor and somehow avoided being hit. (Of course, they weren't exactly antiviruses.) Vertex's screen stayed in one place again, looking at her back this time, and she remained on-screen. Knowing there were far too many to try using Tackle, she instead resorted to exploiting the gunner bugs from the bat. She would grab one that came close to her and fire it at whatever was coming her way, but she would always soon end up using it as a shield to block the turrets or a salvo of shots from a third type of bug, one that locked on, then fired up to eight dark red bullet-like shots. The poor porygon2 was too busy trying to survive to focus on hitting the virus. The room retained its angry red color.

Soon, however, Vertex was faring badly. She was skittering through the air side to side, flailing her feet madly, as enough shots to make a bullet hell veteran grimace launched at her, barely missing their mark. The room didn't really change its color much.

Then, abruptly, she regained her composure straight to full confidence as she grabbed one of the lock-on bugs and used it to fire white shots, two to four at a time, and zipped away from any lock-on reticules or shots that came at her. As well, she was able to land a few hits on the virus itself once in a while! The room was slightly less harsh in its red color.

Vertex was dodging when she got hit by a lock-on bullet. "GON!" She looked around in surprise. "~Where'd that—?~"

Suddenly, a solid wall of lock-on bugs loomed up in front of her, startling her and scaring away the bug she was holding. "~WHOA!~"

They locked onto her while she was holding still. Vertex started to panic. "~Ohnoohnoohnooh—wait!~" A pixelated light bulb lit up by her head and she stopped flailing.

The wall fired their full salvos and Vertex shot up, eyes clenched shut. "~Let this be the right one, let this be the right one,~" she muttered as she soared upwards.

Her body glowed, changing color and texture, as she went over the top of the wall, the shots following her.

"~YESYESYESYESYESSSS!~" she cheered as she danced around the other side, avoiding shots that went and struck other bugs, turrets, or the virus. Of course, a good number hit her, too, but if her dry, brown texture meant anything, she had used Conversion 2 to (break the current rules a bit and) switch to the type that the electronic pulses were ineffective against—Ground!

The virus roared in agony as Vertex floated to a pause, raising an eyebrow and looking up with her eyes. "~Why didn't I do this from the start?~" she muttered just before her Conversion 2 wore off. "~OH!~" she squeaked at this before shooting up again. This made the current mass of shots coming at her hit the bug wall, eradicating it.

"But as unskilled as she is, it wears off pretty quick," Maru commented, crossing his arms and smirking. "Not that she could not do some damage before it ran out."

Mr. Kely was glued to the action. Maru sweatdropped and gave him a sideways glance. Mr. Kely quickly looked away and adjusted his glasses again. "I've never seen a representation of cyberspace, that's all," he dismissed.

—**O—**

_(-*instrumental*)_

Vertex gulped, looking at the virus with nervous determination. "Almost there..."

Though unseen, the Pokédan looked at one another and nodded. """OSU!"""

_- I-tsu-mo-ki-o-u A-ssa-ri-to  
><em>

_- I-tsu-mo-ki-o-u A-ssa-ri-to  
><em>

_- I-tsu-mo-ki-o-u A-ssa-ri-to  
><em>

_- I-tsu-mo-ki-o-u A-ssa-ri-to  
><em>

_- Sa-i-ko-u-na-i-sa-i_

_- Yu-me-ga-ji-ssa-i-da-ro-u-to-o-mo-i-da-su-ko-to-wo-o-mo-i-da-su  
><em>

_- Sa-i-te-i-na-ki-sa-i  
><em>

_- Na-ga-re-ru-vampire juice_

_- O-mo-i-da-su-ko-to-mo-na-i  
><em>

_- Sa-i-ko-u-na-i-sa-i_

_- Yu-me-ga-ji-ssa-i-da-ro-u-to-o-mo-i-da-su-ko-to-wo-o-mo-i-da-su  
><em>

_- Sa-i-te-i-na-ki-sa-i  
><em>

_- Na-ga-re-ru-vampire juice_

_- O-mo-i-da-su-ko-to-mo-na-i_

_- Sa..._

_- *instrumental*_

Vertex began by grabbing a lock-on bug and using it to lock on four times before firing, sometimes having to use it as a shield this time and waste a second grabbing another, flitting about nervously yet determinedly the entire time. The room's red was not as harsh as she entered, and flickered every now and then to green.

This didn't last long, however; when the refrain came nearly _a cappella_, as the Pokédan did longer, sparser moves to match the floating feel, Vertex began fighting completely differently from her previous bests. Instead of zipping around and firing like crazy, she instead floated calmly and slowly side to side, locking onto eight targets at a time before firing in time with every measure's first and third beats, smoothly dodging (or even shooting down) any shots that made their way towards her with gentle, flowing movements, never breaking her stride. Her expression was serene as she worked on annihilating the virus, whose arms were cringing in pain with each group of shots, accented with a roar. '~Focus...Calm...Focus...Calm...~' Vertex kept telling herself as she floated about. The room flickered between red and green more frequently, staying on green more than red every couple switches. She stayed like this virtually the entire rest of the time.

As the Pokédan's screen finally disappeared entirely, Vertex floated level with the virus, holding her lock-on bug. The virus itself was looking quite unwell, several polygons missing on its outer shell and its single flashing block core exposed. **"Virus deletion at 95%...**" she announced, eyes closed. She opened them again and looked seriously at the virus (the camera getting right in front of her face). "~...Time to clean your clock!~"

She used Conversion 2 before racing over, firing lock-on shots over and over in her high-speed Tackle. She flew so fast, the shots she fired were only slowly going in front of her. _"Porrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy!"_

The virus and remaining shooting bugs tried firing at her, but her Conversion 2 foiled this, the stray shots ending up hitting the virus itself.

Then, almost all of the shots Vertex fired hit the virus at the same time as brown blur Vertex herself did. _BUBUBOOOM!_ _"GON!"_

The virus roared again, but it was quickly cut apart and then out as it exploded into harmless loose 1's and 0's. Flying out of the blast came a magenta and blue blur, a happy Vertex with Conversion 2 worn off. She had no bug anymore (as it was destroyed), but she didn't need any anymore. Behind her, the remains of the virus crumbled from the former center into individual triangular polygon parts that faded into data, as well. The room turned a gentle green for good. "~I DID IT!~" Vertex chirped happily.

She raced out the port portal at warp speed, firewall allowing her through now. Little beads of data flew out in front of her. **"Deletion successful. Updating local anti-virus." **she announced proudly as she went.

Outside, Maru was tapping away at the computer again, while Mr. Kely was mopping his brow. "Come on, hurry up..." Maru was grumbling, looking at a side screen. (He sensed another Teleport as he did so, but was too focused on the task at hand.) The screen had a window for the anti-virus program. A short moment passed before a window with a green circle popped up, reading, "Database updated," making Maru shout a victorious, "YES!"

He slammed a key with a finger. "Scan!"

**"Logging out," **announced Vertex as she finally reached her exit. All around her, all the bugs remaining were disappearing in puffs of smoke after lighting up in yellow, including the ones forming a wall before the exit—she just kept flying through, exiting through a cloud of data.

The computer console came alive with white energy as she came out into the real world, floating above and to the side. The porygon2 came out with a tired and relieved face on. "Por_yy! _~I made it!~" she sighed (only Maru understanding her, of course). She started when she turned to the side, ending up looking right into the eyes of Mr. Kely. "!" (Right as she looked up at Mr. Kely, the song ended in its abrupt way.)

Mr. Kely stared back, wearing a poker face. "..."

Maru, meanwhile, was doing a full system check. He smiled at the screen's result. "All harmful programs deleted, all files restored, all processes nominal!" he reported over his shoulder.

Mr. Kely stood silent for a moment, staring inscrutably at Vertex, before chuckling. He grabbed Vertex's feet suddenly, making her widen her eyes in surprise, and started dancing around with her. "You saaaved us~! You saaaved us~!" the old geek sang happily as he turned a circle with her. The poor pokémon was sweatdropping the whole time.

"~J-Just doin' my job, s-sir...~" she replied dizzily.

"You know what I think, Mr. Maru?" Mr. Kely grinned. "I'm gonna make _her_ our permanent virus fighter!" He stopped and smiled down at her (she was spiral-eyed now). "Could you forgive me for doubting you?" he asked her.

Vertex looked back at him with big, sparkling, happy eyes. "~You...I...~" She closed them happily and nodded, announcing simply, proudly, and assuredly, "~Awaiting commands!~"

_(- Ta-nn-jyo-u-shi-ta-te-You&I Last-life-e-ru)_

_(- U-ka-nn-de-ku-so-u A-ru-i-wa-su-be-ri-ko-mu)_

_(- Message-wa-lucky Ki-zu-ka-nu-mi-wa-do-u-se)_

_(- Ta-nn-jyo-u-shi-ta-te-You&I Last-life-e-ru)_

_(- U-ka-nn-de-ku-so-u A-ru-i-wa-su-be-ri-ko-mu)_

_(- Message-wa-lucky Ki-zu-ka-nu-mi-wa-do-u-se)_

_(- Stop)_

_Some time later, Vertex is seen in a black, green-lined cyberspace, firing a Tri Attack down at a group of bugs._

**-:-:-**

Back in the present, though, Maru went over to Mr. Kely. "Um..." he went, sweatdropping and holding a finger up. 'I did not do much noteworthy work here, compared to her...'

"Don't worry, I'm still going to pay you," Mr. Kely assured, smiling at him. "Could you do me a favor and go up to the main lobby and wait for me? I need to get the money from my office. And bring Vertex with you; I think looking through a few _real _windows might help her. After all, she's awful tired." Maru nodded, and Mr. Kely, smiling, turned and left through a door.

Maru started walking to the other door, motioning for Vertex to follow. She floated along, trailing her feet behind her in exhaustion. On the way, he commented, "For someone just doing her job, you did a pretty damn good one."

Vertex ran a blushing program and giggled sheepishly before she noted something, making her squeak. "~Wait, _what?~"_

Maru chuckled, smirking. "I can understand pokémon," he explained.

Vertex nodded her head. "~I see.~" They entered an elevator.

Maru frowned, thinking, as he selected the lobby...mentally chuckling after something intruded his rumination. 'Two artificial pokémon walk into an elevator...' "...Is your AI's personality program stronger than average?" he asked offhandedly.

Vertex bobbed her head like a drinking bird. "~I am product number 28 of Torizo Systems' Enhanced Porygon project,~" she identified. "~The aim of the project is to produce porygon and porygon2 with personality programs so strong, they spend more time thinking than processing, so to speak.~"

Maru nodded, understanding. "...How do you feel, being...created?" he asked. 'To be honest, she is actually worse off than me, if she had to have her very personality created,' he admitted to himself. 'I at least grew my own personality...At least, I...think...'

Vertex tilted her head, looking up as she decided. "~Ummm...~" She looked back at him. "~Given the choice, would you rather not choose to exist as a creation than to not exist at all?~" she asked in answer.

Maru let out a laugh. "You have a good point, there," he said, smiling wistfully. 'Not that I have found my answer to that question, myself...'

"~I'm happy with who and what I am,~" Vertex answered more plainly, happy-eying. "~And I am satisfied knowing that my personality has some ability to change given its advanced programming.~" She looked down at herself. "~I'm actually still amazed at how powerful that program is,~" she commented. "~Porygon2 are usually more free-willed than normal porygon, but...these emotions are so powerful—they've often overridden my programming, at least to an extent. They really put a LOT of effort into that part of my AI. No wonder they decided to give it a new name.~"

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. The two manmade pokémon stepped out. Maru looked at Vertex. "New name?"

Vertex nodded. "~Uh-huh. They thought that they did such a good job, it deserves a stronger name than something so plain as 'Personality'.~"

"Ah. What did they rename it?" Maru stopped by a window and looked out at the late afternoon.

"~Something simple, yet powerful...~" Vertex looked out the window with him. "~'Heart'.~"

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Maru stood on top of his church house that evening, the wind blowing his half-cloak. The moon looked full to the untrained eye, but he could see there was just a bit left to go. 'It will be full just in time for the festival,' he knew. He crossed his arms. "...I am waiting..." he said quietly to nobody.

His senses detected something familiar. 'Knew it.' He turned just in time to see a flash of light. He frowned a little, raising an eyebrow. "Good, you _are _alive," he deadpanned.

Floating there was Mew.

She frowned and pouted, putting her tiny paws on her hips. "~Well, ex_cuuuuuse __ME_, prince,~" she mocked, rolling her eyes, "~but I've been kinda busy lately.~"

Maru raised an eyebrow and slouched. "Oh? Do tell," he grumped. "What has kept Miss Nary a Care in the World so busy that she could not come and entertain an old friend with a race now and again for the past—what, month?"

"~Sounds about right,~" she muttered, thinking. She smirked and raised an eyebrow at him. "~Still haven't worked on those contractions yet, have you?~" she snarked.

Maru turned his head away. "I dislike them. They are shortcuts. People should stop and listen closely more often," he reasoned.

Mew shrugged. "~And why are you still Maru?~" she asked...this time more gently.

Silence, as predicted.

"~And why are you only level almost-4?~"

More silence, as predicted.

"~What _happened, _Mewtwo?~" Mew floated over in front of him, looking genuinely worried.

Silence again...then Maru gently placed his hand on Mew's head and closed his eyes. "Read my memories of last Saturday," he bade.

Mew widened her eyes. Mewtwo had _never _let her read his mind! Not that she let him, or many people wanted her to, but she always had respected his wishes and never pressed too much before. She always let him tell her what had happened in words. This must have been something pretty bad...She nodded and went to work.

As Mew viewed the scenes in his memory, Maru felt a funny feeling in his head...as if someone were flipping pages of a book made out of his hippocampus. A few moments later, Mew ducked from his contact, breaking the secure mind read, directing her pitying eyes away from the prideful pokémon. "~Oh, Mewtwo...~" she shook her head. "~I...sensed something had happened, but...yow...this sucks.~" She looked at his waist and the weapon strapped there. She smirked. "~Nice stick, though.~"

Maru blushed and swatted at her head, hitting only air as she giggled. "Friend or not, you make tasteful jokes around me," he admonished through gritted teeth. "And that was terribly inappropriate."

Mew smiled at her favorite Mewtwo Pet Peeve. "~You're still you, though,~" she pointed out. "~A bit depressed, but still you. That's good. Remember that.~"

Maru raised his eyebrows, then chuckled, smiling wryly. "Of course, a test...How can someone so incurably playful be so wise?" he asked for the millionth time.

"~Actually Centuries Old. How many times do I have to tell you?~" Mew replied for the millionth time, winking. The two shared a chuckle.

"A legendary pokémon who moonlights as a Troper," Maru muttered, smoothing his hair and looking skyward. "I have seen it all." He looked back at her and beckoned her. "Come on, we should not have you out in broad citylight like this." He started back into his home.

"~I concur,~" Mew nodded, and followed him through a window.

Mewtwo/Maru's home was little more than a single, small, circular room, but it was all he required. The door was boarded shut, cobwebs hung everywhere, a few old boxes were strewn about, and the place smelled like must, but there was still electricity running there (Mewtwo had made sure of that), and it provided enough of a shelter for whenever winter would come.

A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, but it was broken; Mewtwo had relied on his low-light vision to see by citylight, which was enough even in human form (though barely). To the right wall of the single window was the requisite part of a Mewtwo dwelling: Huge plasma widescreen mounted on the wall and large-keyed keyboard at a desk. A stout wooden stool sat before it—old, but strong enough to withstand over 250 pounds of purple. By that was a small bookcase with many books on it, most of them read already. Mew noticed an atlas of the Unova region, a collection of the works of Victor Hugo, and their world's version of Maus I & II (the only differences being location names and pokémon instead of animals). Mewtwo's bed was not a bed, but a large hammock...over a mattress, much to Mew's amusement. Finally, by the black-curtained window was an old coat rack, on which hung a couple lengths of brown cloth for his cloaks, all neatly tattered just the right amount.

"~Quaint,~" Mew nutshelled it, stopping to float in the middle of the room with her paws on her hips as she looked about.

"All I need," Maru shrugged, hopping up on his hammock. "Well?" he gestured with his arms before swinging his legs up. "You know what has been going on with _my _life."

Mew nodded. "~Wait right there,~" she said, then Teleported. A few moments passed before she returned with an energetic, _"DEI!"_ and Maru blanched, only half-expecting seeing her return carrying _pom-poms _in her raised arms_._ Mew was now dressed up in full cheerleader attire—as in, Western cheerleader attire...modified for pokémon, naturally. She wore a yellow tank top and pleated skirt with blue diagonal stripes across the pleats. Each hem was brown. On the tank was the same symbol seen before—it was too dark to completely make it out, but it did look like a flaming pokéball. Under that was a white t-shirt. She even wore shoes—green tongue-less and toeless sneakers that were stretched to fit around her feet, with white soles and cuffs. A flame design was on the sides, and instead of string, the shoes were laced up with pink ribbon. This ribbon was the same pink as her pom-poms. In a way, she looked adorable.

Maru blinked a few times before face-palming. "YOU. ARE. JOKING."

Mew giggled, turning a circle. Naturally, she had a big, pink bow on her tail. "~Nope!~" she shook her head.

Maru sighed, shaking his head and holding his hands up. "I knew you were associated with them, but, well, now that I think about it, it fits you like a glove," he mused aloud.

Mew giggled and tossed her pom-poms up, Teleporting them off, and (a mite slower than normal) summoned a bubble to sit on. "~Well, to make a long story short,~" she began, "~I met this kid named Kioshi, part of the ouendan that saved the world a while back—you remember?~"

Maru scowled. "No, sadly," he answered sourly. "I later heard all about what happened, but at the time, I was lying on garbage in an alley. Something snuck in under my radar and struck my head with a strong Ghost-type attack or something, knocking me out." He smirked. "Probably because they knew I would kick their asses with whatever it was they were doing," he comforted himself.

Mew rolled her eyes at that last bit, but had made an "Oooh!" face as he described what happened. "~Well, that sucks. Anyway, 'Two, I met this kid Kioshi, the de facto leader of the ouendan that had crossed over to our world from theirs. He had this wild dragonair with him. His friends, Suzu and Hibiki, had a wild teddiursa and croconaw with them, too. You get told how there were actually three pokémon helping cheer on everyone in the final song? Three pokémon who were cheering human-style?~"

Maru frowned in thought, trying to recall. "...I do not believe so," he answered slowly.

"~Well, those three pokémon were a dragonite, an ursaring, and a feraligatr.~" Maru raised his eyebrows and smirked at this. Mew continued, smiling. "~You catching on?~"

"They became the Pokédan."

"~Yep!~" Mew grinned. "~See—~" She leaned in close and held a paw to her mouth, speaking a bit softer. "~Don't tell her I told ya, but that dragonite, who later decided to name herself Netsui, had a hyuuuge crush on Kioshi, and she didn't want him to go yet.~" Maru couldn't help but chuckle (narrowly avoiding snorting outwards) as Mew leaned back and spoke normally again. "~So, Netsui, Ursa, and Feral, as the other two are usually called back at HQ, followed Kioshi back home. There, they got the three kids' mentors' blessing to start their own team. When I found them again to check in on them, they told me they needed to form a group of cheer girls.~" She giggled and closed-eye smiled. "~I'd always wanted to do that, and I love cheering people up, so I said I'd be glad to help!~" She smiled wryly at him, half-eying, as she added, "~I said I'd already had a lot of experience dealing with a really gloomy guy.~"

Maru half-eyed back. "Trust me, you would be gloomy, too, if you went through what I did," he grumbled.

"~Me? Gloomy? Yeah, right!~" Mew laughed. Maru had to admit, she had a point, there. Mew continued. "~So, yeah—I'm the leader of the Pokédan's cheer girls. My backups are Willow—a vulpix—and Neige—a glaceon—and both are excellent at cheering and providing something to the group. Willow cooks pretty well for a wild pokémon, and Neige helps teach us how to handle different terrain types and emergency situations.~"

"And you use Teleport to get the squad where they need to be," Maru guessed, pointing.

Mew nodded, then raised an eyebrow. "~You could sense my signature this afternoon, couldn't ya?~"

"And you could sense me." Maru nodded. "So you have been helping the team start up, I take it?" Mew nodded. "I see..." Maru nodded again. "I understand. After seeing what the Pokédan can do for people and pokémon in need like that, I can see how important it must be. Take as much time as you need to serve them."

Mew nodded. "~Thanks for your blessing, O Mighty Purple One,~" she chuckled.

Maru smirked. "Damn straight. Now, just curious, how come you decided to come back now?"

Mew looked away. "~Well...~"

***FLASHBACK!***

The Pokédan's HQ was in an old Japanese-style house on a small islet in the Orange Archipelago that had acted as a summer home to a family that was friends to one of the squad's members. It was one story, but had a good number of rooms, and could accommodate all eight members of the group easily. Not only that, but there was enough room on the rest of the island for them to practice cheering and, important to any wild pokémon determined not to be captured, training.

Netsui, Ursa, and Feral appeared in a flash as Mew Teleported them back after they had seen the ending of their target's story. Netsui whispered out of the corner of her mouth, "Okay, _now!"_

"""OUEN!"""

"DAI!"

"SEI!"

"KOU!"

(...)

(WHOOO! YEAAAHH! clappity-clappity)

Vrrrrrnnnn-Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk—

VWOOYYY-PSHH!

(...)

BREEWWEH!

Mew smiled as the three did the traditional post-cheer declaration. As they had just said, their cheer had been a "big success". "~Good work on your first official cheer, you guys!~" she congratulated, clapping.

"See, we couldn't do it there because they'd hear us, and that's rude," Netsui was telling the others. She spoke in fluent Human, voice deep but feminine. When she heard Mew speaking, she stopped and turned to her. "Huh?...Oh!" She put a hand behind her neck, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, thanks...Whew, was I nervous!"

"YOU were nervous?" Ursa and Feral said together before laughing with her. Now that they weren't cheering someone anymore, they didn't need to act so seriously all the time.

Mew, meanwhile, was sitting on a rock, lost in thought. '~That was Mewtwo I sensed,~' she thought. '~It's been a long time since I've seen him...~' She frowned worriedly. '~I hope he's not mad at me...~'

"Mew?" Mew looked up and saw Netsui coming over, looking at her in interest. "You okay? You look troubled..."

Mew shook her head. "~No, fine, just...thinking about something that popped in my head while watching you guys,~" she replied, smiling. "~Nothing major.~"

"Ah." Netsui stretched. "Wow...Did I do alright? I missed a few here and there, since it wasn't a song we've practiced all that much..."

"Netsui?" Ursa asked, coming over and raising an eyebrow.

"NONE of our songs are ones we've practiced all that much," Feral told her wryly, joining his friend.

Netsui held her paws up in defeat. "True, true..." She clasped them together as she smiled wistfully at the clouds. "Oh, if only Kioshi could have seen me...!" she yearned breathlessly.

Everyone else face-palmed. "Could you _please _get over that crush, already!" laughed Feral. "He's a human! You're a pokémon! It just wouldn't work out!"

Netsui laughed, turning to them with a pleasant smile. "Yeah, I know, but I still love his guts," she said. "And remember, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't be here doing what we're doing, and what we're doing is a very good thing."

'~Even so...~' Mew thought guiltily, biting her lip. She looked at the friends she had made in the last few weeks and thought about the one she had made for a good long time. '~...As important as I am to them, I doubt they'll need me for...what, an hour?...~'

***/FLASHBACK!***

Maru nodded. "I see," he said. He smiled sadly. "Well, I hate to break it to you, but there is little we could do right now, seeing as my powers have waned." He looked glumly out the window. "Otherwise, I would most definitely have acquiesced to a race..."

Mew frowned. 'He seems really disappointed,' she thought. '~There's _nothing _we could do...?~' Suddenly, she had it, and she brightened up. "~Hey, 'Two?~"

Maru looked back at her, expression plain again. "Yes?"

Mew floated up, smiling helpfully. "~If your powers are gone, then why don't we try and bring them back a bit?~" she suggested. "~We could do a little training!~"

Maru raised his eyebrows, then narrowed them in a mischievous smirk. "I thought you were a pacifist," he teased. "But I will take it!"

"~I'm only a pacifist when I can be,~" Mew shrugged, floating to the window. "~Not when, say, dealing with a whiny, scared little child trying to take over the world by force.~"

Maru raised an eyebrow as he got out of the hammock. "That was ages ago, come off it, already," he grumbled, and Mew giggled.

Outside, the two went to the area where Mewtwo had trained before. (Maru could get there by foot easily—it was just a difficult path through the alleyways that made flying more desirable.) Ren was there that night—it was still his favorite secluded spot—and when he saw Mew, he yelped, jumped, and flailed a bit before falling spectacularly off his bench, making both pokémon laugh.

"Dude, I cleaned up long ago—so why am I trippin'?" Ren asked in disbelief while he hauled himself up again, eyes wide and somewhat scared at Mew. "I'm seein' a _mew_! In a _cheerleader's outfit!"_

"That you are," Maru agreed, sweatdropping at Mew. "Mew, could you please at least take that ridiculous out—" He ducked a flying kick aimed at his head.

"~It's _not _ridiculous!~" Mew protested, frowning and crossing her arms. "~...But you're right. I should remove it. I don't want it to get hurt.~" She easily grabbed the garments with telekinesis, undid what needed to be undone, and took off her clothing. (She's a pokémon, she had nothing to worry about. Still, Ren felt he had to look away during this.)

"Whatcha guys doing?" Ren asked during this.

"Mew is going to help me train a little so I can get on my way back to normal," Maru answered.

"Okay, ready?" Maru asked once she was finished.

Mew nodded. "~Ready!~" She flew to one end of the area, Maru jogging to a spot off center. Mew turned. "~Alright, you're level 3 right now, so you know...what?~" she asked.

"Technically, all, but I right now just 'know' Confusion, Disable, and Barrier," Maru listed. "But the man who stole my power not only stole what moves I could use properly, but he diluted my overall psychic powers." He scowled. "As such, I cannot use Confusion or Disable in battle, and Barrier has become extraordinarily thin."

Mew nodded, taking this in. "~Can you do any, like, special techniques besides moves?~" she asked.

Maru nodded. "Yes. I can do a quick dodging dash to avoid damage and a technique I call 'Slashfest'. I jump onto an opponent's back and give a few quick slashes to their head before kicking off of them. Of course, my opponent must be my size or larger, and safe to ride."

Mew thought for a bit longer. "~Hmmmmm...Okay, first off—Barrier.~" She put one up—a very thin one. "~I know we usually are powerful enough that we don't need to worry about it, but truth be told, it takes a lot of energy to put up a full Barrier. And the more area it has to cover, the thinner it stretches. That's why most pokémon just put up a wall; it works for most attacks and doesn't cover as much surface area as a sphere.~" The pink bubble around her slowly came to a point, thickening as it did. "~The more you condense it, the stronger it gets. Follow me?~"

Maru raised his eyebrows. "I never thought about that..." he muttered. He looked at his hands before nodding and drawing his stick. 'So just condense the Barrier, and...' He held his right arm up as if raising a shield, stick pointing down at an angle to his right, gritting his teeth, grunting. "HUP!" A relatively small circle of Barrier appeared before his forearm, bright and blue. He grunted, holding it, before letting his breath out and sighing. "I cannot hold it for long like that, it is too taxing," he said disappointedly. "But it is progress."

"~Then just do it when you gotta,~" Mew suggested in a simple tone. "~Better yet, set it so that it's weak at first, but when you sense an attack about to hit, reflexively strengthen it just in time. Can you do that?~"

Maru thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think so. Shall we try?"

"~Sure! I'll send some bubbles your way. You use Barrier to block them!~" Mew created a reasonably large, soft bubble before sending it towards Maru. Maru waited until it came close, then held his arm up again. This time, only a very faint, body-covering flat circle appeared in front of Maru. He still could not hold it for too long, but he had timed it well enough. Right when the bubble touched an invisible psychic tripwire deployed with the shield, Maru put more power into and condensed the shield, throwing his other arm in front of his raised one in a guarding "X" while he braced against the impact of the bubble bursting against his Barrier. He skidded back a bit from the force. He held the Barrier for a fraction of a second before letting it down again.

Maru smiled, satisfied, and nodded. "It worked like a charm," he reported. "I felt very little energy being drained. I think I could do that all day if I had to!"

Mew smirked. "~We'll see about that,~" she said before sending a few more bubbles at him. Maru practiced his Barrier Guard on each one. He even found that he could psychically absorb some of the kinetic force from the blow to give a tiny boost—just what he needed to block a chain of attacks. After a few more successful blocks, Mew stopped. "~Alrighty! I think we just mastered how you'll be using Barrier for a while!~" she announced briskly, paws on hips.

Maru smirked, nodding. "Yes, that will work great. Thank you for helping."

Mew crossed her arms. "~I think you could even use it just at will and not worry about it being one of your primary moves,~" she added. Maru agreed, commenting how simple it was to him, now.

*****LEARNED Barrier Guard – Ability*****

_Press the Maneuver Button while standing still to guard against frontal attacks._

"~Alright, notice anything while you've been fighting the past couple days?~" Mew asked. "~About using attacks more than just normal ones.~"

Maru thought a moment. "Well, for some reason, it feels like I could not use Slashfest again right away after using it once; I have to wait a few moments before I can use it again," he described, frowning. "It must be a side effect from the power loss...That guy really screwed me up..."

"~_I'll_ say,~" Mew nodded, raising an eyebrow at his strange affliction. "~I betcha your body sorta treats it like a move—you know how some pokémon treat moves as having a bit of cooldown so that they can use it repeatedly instead of just blasting 'em all out at once and running outta juice?~"

Maru thought for a moment, holding his chin and elbow. "Of course, that Reload vs. Power Points argument that I've heard going on amongst wild pokémon these days," he mumbled, brow furrowed in interest. "How it seems that sometimes, in battle, a pokémon ends up unable to use a move, save for if it consumes Lum, is treated with an ether-type item, or waits for a bit, usually longer than the battle will last. This lets them use some moves over and over at the risk of running out of shots for it. The Power Points side of it.

"And on the Reload side of it, pokémon use moves once, or maybe more times in quick succession, and waits a little bit while resting their body from that move for a few moments. This means that moves cannot really be used that often, and perhaps they are a little weaker than normal, but they are able to use moves many times in battle."

Ren spoke suddenly. "Dude, so, like little moves like Scratch and Tackle that take up a lotta energy would work best doing that Power Points way and super-strong moves like Fire Blast and Blizzard would be better with that Reload way," he observed. He paused, thinking, then added to himself, "Hey, I wonder if moves like Hyper Beam where the pokémon _has _to recharge can kinda be like a fusion of those two...?"

Maru raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "You are correct, Ren," he said, a little impressed. "You suppose my body has been doing the Reload method instinctively to conserve my power?" he wondered, crossing his arms.

Mew nodded. "~That's what it sounds like,~" she guessed, "~and I betcha it'll work a lot better than the Power Points method. So if your body thinks it can handle more than one of the same move, you'd better make sure it knows that before going into battle. Even so, each use will count as a single shot, probably, so no using one, then waiting a bit, using the other, and then going right back to the fresh-charged first and doing them both one after the other. The first was ready, but the second wasn't.~"

"This is a very odd way of fighting, but I suppose it works," Maru muttered, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged. "Okay. How about we test this theory out. Mew, teach me a new move or technique."

Mew started. "~What? Um...okay, erm...any preferences?~" she asked, sweatdropping.

Maru smiled brightly. "Transform?" he asked hopefully.

Mew facepalmed, smiling. "~Well, I highly doubt you're ready for that, given how difficult it was _last _time,~" she laughed. When Mewtwo had asked Mew one day if she could try teaching him Transform, he had no idea how difficult it was to do. Powerful psychic he was, efficiently both altering his DNA and cells (almost) painlessly was something almost beyond his ken. But, stubborn as he was, he finally learned it after a solid month of training. All that work going to waste (in the opposite direction, in a way) was one of the biggest blows to him after his power had gone away.

"It was worth a shot," Maru sighed, smiling faintly.

"~I couldn't even if I tried...~" Mew murmured, looking away.

Maru tilted his head. "What was that?" he asked.

Mew shook her head. "~Nothing.~"

Maru gesticulated. "I still would like to learn a move or something to test out how that Reload method works," he insisted.

Mew frowned, worried. "~I haven't the slightest on what move to try and teach you that won't take too much energy,~" she admitted sorrily.

Maru frowned. "Not even a straight-up fighting technique?" he asked. Mew shook her head. He sighed. "Great. Oh, well..."

"Fighting techniques, you say you wanted, dude?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

Maru turned to him, raising one back. "Yeah—what, have you been withholding some prowess on me?" he asked, smirking.

Ren grinned and stood up, fists on his hips, and nodded proudly. "Not to brag, but I'm one of the best when it comes to street fights among my peers around here," he announced.

Maru and Mew sweatdropped. 'Among his "peers"?...' they wondered. Maru crossed his arms, looking skeptical. "And you decided to not show me...why?"

Ren laughed. "What, spar against _you? _Yeah, right!" he scoffed, shaking his head. "And before you say anything about helping you these past few days, you never asked, dude," he added, pointing at him and raising a gotcha-there eyebrow with his smirk.

Maru bobbed his head in annoyed defeat. 'He has a point,' he admitted. He half-eyed at him. "I still have trouble believing you," he said flatly. "Show me some of your moves, then we shall see."

Ren grinned and got up, throwing off his object-packed coat onto the ground. His clothing was sweat-stained and ragged, but so is the life of a homeless man. (Maru felt slightly guilty looking at the old, not-so-unlikely vintage Slayers t-shirt, remembering his annoyance that his own shirts were getting dirty so he had to buy a new one—which he could do. Speaking of, said shirt was on him now, a plain blue one with some illegibly faded silk screen design that might have spelled out a swear at one point.) Ren reached to his coat again and pulled out what looked like half a cane with a gem missing from the top. It looked sturdy, strong, and supple. Maru couldn't help but compare its well-balanced form to his measly stick. Ren held it like a sword. "Okay, bring it on, dude!" Ren beckoned after stepping into the ring.

Maru nodded and got into stance before the bout began. He went forwards after locking onto Ren with his eyes and a tiny amount of psychic energy to keep a bead on him if he ended up behind his back. Ren held up surprisingly well, taking a good amount more hits to defeat than most outlaws he had faced in the past few days—more hits than any outlaws period. He also attacked quickly with his cane, guarding occasionally as well. He even jumped almost as high as Maru! His drawback was that he wasn't exactly super-strong, but he was strong enough to tire Maru a bit.

During the fight, apart from normal combos, he occasionally unleashed stronger attacks. Before the bout was over, he abruptly unleashed a rapid-fast spin to knock Maru away, surprised Maru with an upwards slash that knocked him into the air, and did a quick but powerful jumping overhead strike strengthened with a spinning windup. Maru was most intrigued by the attack that knocked him into the air. 'I could follow that up with an aerial combo,' he thought.

When the final blow was struck, Ren stumbled back, laughing and holding an arm out. "Okay, dude, I give, I give!" he laughed. "You got me!"

Maru stopped and went over to him, smiling approvingly. "You really _are _a decent fighter, Ren," he complimented. "You should have said something sooner!" (He had even gained experience from fighting him, meaning he really was a true challenge; to Maru's pleasant surprise, he had leveled up as a result.)

Ren sighed, hand on the back of his neck. "Well, thanks—it's just I know you woulda creamed me, dude, which ya did," he chuckled. "But yeah, you just talk to me anytime, and we can do a bit of sparring. Just...don't try and spar with me _all _the time. I gotta conserve what energy I can get, y'know?" he asked with a mirthless smile.

Maru returned the expression. "Alright. Thank you."

Ren nodded. "Alright, how's about this—I can teach ya some basic but pretty good attacks for you to use," he said, gesticulating. "But it ain't gonna be free. I wanna help ya, but I gotta help myself, you know? But don't worry, it's cheap—and this first one's gonna be on the house. If you want me to teach you anything, just talk to me."

Maru's face brightened a bit. "That would be great, thank you," he said. "Now, about that freebie...Could you teach me that attack where you hit someone up into the air that you did?"

"Rising Strike? Sure!" Ren grinned, and he got into the center of the plaza. "Okay, watch me closely..." He brought his cane high to the side behind him before taking a step and swinging it, letting its weight carry it, in an upwards swoosh, stepping forwards again as he let the weight take him back to stance. "That's the basics of it. Go for it, dude!"

Maru thought for a moment before getting into stance. He then stepped forwards, bringing his stick back and his left hand up to it, and swung it down and up heavily with his left hand, letting his foot step back into stance. He quickly switched hands after the slash itself, right hand coming up to meet the left at the end of the swing. He nodded. "I think I got it," he announced.

"Right on, dude! Now, come to me when you got time and money, and I'll teach you some more," Ren smiled. He turned and started back to his bench when he stopped, looking at his cane and Maru's stick. He looked at Maru kindly. "Dude, you maybe wanna trade up?" he offered.

Maru raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked, walking over. "That cane looks very high-quality...You sure you want to trade it for just a stick?..."

Ren chuckled. "I think you deserve it more than I do, dude," he replied, holding his cane out.

Maru smiled a little sheepishly. "Oh..." He took the cane and gave him the stick. "Thank you very much, Ren." He bowed courteously.

Ren chuckled. "No problem!" He looked at the stick and raised an eyebrow. "Truth be told, for a stick, this ain't bad!" He chuckled and went back to his bench, where he put the stick in his coat and the coat on his body.

*****LEARNED Rising Strike – Attack Command*****

_Smack foes high into the air._

*****RECIEVED Cane*****

_A well-balanced cane that retains an air of style despite its missing gem. A gift from Ren._

"~Alright, does your body make you wait until you can use Rising Strike again?~" Mew asked after a moment.

Maru shrugged. "Let me see," he said. He executed a Rising Strike, then tried to do it again—and found himself unable to. He shook his head. "The Reload method counts for techniques as well as moves, I can confirm it," he stated.

"~Good!~" Mew nodded, smiling. She prepared another bubble. "~How about one last bout before we're done for tonight? You can practice your new attack some more and test out that cane!~"

Maru nodded. "Sounds good. Begin!" he shouted, getting into stance once more.

Mew sent out many bubbles at him that tried to "attack" him by running into him quickly. Most were moderately small, but some were big and strong enough that he could use Slashfest on them. (Ren would always dive out of the way if he tried it on him.) This got him used to the Reload method's ways and let him see how good the cane really was. If a bubble burst in the middle of a Slashfest, he just stopped moving and let himself fall. By the end of the round, he was almost level 5. 'I should be leveled up by Friday if not sooner,' he thought.

"~Alright, I think that's enough,~" Mew said after the last bubble was popped. She flew over to Maru, grabbing her cheering outfit from Ren's bench with telekinesis. She smiled at Maru. "~It was good to see you again, Mewtwo,~" she said softly, "~and I'm sorry, but I dunno if I can come see you every day.~"

"No worries," Maru shook his head, smiling. "If the Pokédan really need you that much, then go ahead. I will be fine."

Mew nodded, smiling sheepishly. "~Thanks...~" She backed away, then paused. "~You...~" She backed away again, smiling broadly at her friend in concern. "~You be careful, alright?~" she asked. Maru nodded, and Mew used Teleport to vanish herself and her clothing.

"You can kick ass and take names, _and _you're buddy-buddy with the world's rarest pokémon," Ren summarized from the bench. He smirked. "Dude, have I told you that you're _unbelievably _awesome? 'Cuz you are."

Maru laughed.

~Author's Note~

Writing this in advance because I wanna say something:

*FWUMPs into chair*

I did it. I DID IT. I listened closely to all of "III" and wrote down the lyrics as accurately as I think I heard them without any other current lyrics to help me! (Well, that I know of! I searched and searched, but I found nothing, so...) I've been dreading this moment for a good couple years but I DID IIIIIIT! *pumps arms in victory*

Seriously, you guys have NO idea how tough that was. Listen to the song. Go on, YouTube "Cube Juice III" and listen while watching the weird and amusing video. (With the most winningly random intro I've ever seen in my life. _"Lungston clipper-filler." _(Oh, wow, OpenOffice recognizes "winningly" as a word.))

That also said, I'm proud of this stage. Not only did I do a pretty decent job with doing a stage again after a good two+ years, but I did it relatively short, sweet, to the point, and (if I do say so myself) amusingly. I'm also proud because, well, I pulled this outta my ass when I started out Monday just doing some editing work with my current material and wrapped it up Tuesday (today, meaning now we're in the end-of-chapter note).

With that in mind, I hope that you all didn't mind that little break too much. It's just that these guys are gonna play a pretty sizable role in the story...as if they haven't already. (Kudos to those of you who know why I say that!) I'm actually glad with how I ended up working it into the theme of the story like I did—the idea came to me just today and I edited the stage intro to reflect that.

I then put in that extra stuff to make it feel like the chapter was actually going somewhere. Yes, this "game" isn't going to be just some weird variation of KHII's system—it's gonna be a weird variation of that _and _BbS/Re:coded's Command Deck systems. Seriously, I was wondering how on Earth I'd explain why the hell you'd have to wait after a single use of a command like that, or why you'd have to _buy_ new commands (which I'm _still _kinda wondering), and even so, I think it's still kinda too video game-y. I'll work it out somehow. Oh, and, chaosglory626, you feelin' a bit better about the cane, now? XD; When I found Ren was going to spar with Maru, I was like, "He needs a weapon," and the idea for him to use the cane and later give it to Maru popped up. So, yes, he's still got that stylin' cane, given by a hobo, but still he's got that cane! (For what use it's gonna see by the end of this Piece...)

Okay, I have GOT to avoid extending Maru's (or Ash's) chapters like this! TimetimeTIME! *mrfs and scuttles around nervously* And I now have enough characters for an omake, so...shoot! Well, g'night, folks, and try not to be too mad about this, pleeeeease! n.n;

**Hey, look, it's a walkthrough!** ferretrip (dot) wikia (dot) com (slash) wiki (slash) **Walkthrough_KH2** It's got lots of _extra plot stuff _for you to enjoy-basically, all the stuff that I glossed over at the beginning of the chapter, so go on and check it out! (It'll take some time before the next chapter unless I can hurry my ass up today, which I doubt will happen, so it'll while the time away, at least.) IT ALSO INCLUDES A MAP FOR NIGHTSKY CITY THAT I WORKED ON PRETTY HARD!

Also, in regards to the lyrics: My friend Yuto has been helping me with them. I've put in the romaji he's gotten, which is automatically much better than mine, seeing as he's actually Japanese. He's trying to figure out how to translate it because its literal translation is very strange...it's obviously very poetic. For example, his literal translation of the first part is like this: "Fit precisely fighting pose mercy too\also don't feel like saving/In front of opposite bank love is injury time/Minus plus\add test\exam to the plus mind defeat\destroy future". ?_? Yeah. Cube Juice is apparently a bit..._different_.

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

***Maru is reflecting on what Mew told him back in his hammock later that night***

**Maru: **'How strange and silly...Pokémon as cheerleaders...I guess it could work. The three I saw and Mew are all bipedal. There are lots of good bipedal pokémon out there who could do that.'

**Maru: **…

**Maru: ***wears a confused face* 'Wait, then how can a _vulpix _and _glaceon _cheer?'

***Back at the Pokédan HQ***

**Neige (the glaceon, remember): ***sweatdropping and smiling wryly, talking to a wild paras wearing a similar expression to Maru* _Lots _and _lots _of practice...

**Willow (the vulpix): ***by her, smiling happily* It helps me cook, though!

**Paras: ***sweatdropping and smiling* O-Oh, I see...*pauses, then looks wide-eyed at Willow* Wait, you can _cook?_


	3. M01: Party Poopers

Lights. They sparkled and shone both from the stars and full moon above and from the lights and lamps below. Mewtwo stood on a thick antenna looking out over the scene, the wind gently blowing his cloak back. He looked up at the sky, then at the city, and sighed, looking wistful. Then, things moved in slow motion as he crouched.

As he did, lights from both below and above started blinking out, one by one, quite quickly. The speed of the blackouts accelerated as he went through his movements, until finally, he shot out into the darkness, the moon blackening last in a rapid backward phase run. (The dark part coming from the left.)

Mewtwo began to fly through the blackness, cloak trailing slowly behind him despite his position being that of a dashing flight, entirely outstretched; the slo-mo was still in effect. Suddenly, from the darkness around him, images appeared of different memories of his: Building his palace. Seeing Ren's smiling, calm face in the moonlight. The sight of flying through the air into the spring. Standing amidst flaming ruins. Finding Nightsky City. The darkness surrounded each one as if they were screens, windows. He flew through one, passing through it slowly. He could not hear the words, but knew what they were. As he went through it, the memory reconstructed itself around him.

He was sitting on the remains of his tank, orange fluid in drips on him like a Gatorade commercial. Scientists were buzzing and panicking, but one with awesome hair for an older man stepped forwards. "Quiet! ...Let us hear its psychic powers...!" Mewtwo looked up at him in surprise, then did the oddest thing. He got up, turning, and jumped at the nearest tank full of liquid.

He then went right into a tank with amber liquid, passing through the glass as if it were an illusion, and continued to fly forth through endless, bubbling water, cloak reappearing. More memories swam about him like fish: Him setting up his computer at Purity Canyon and untangling some wiring via telekinesis. The first time he entered Goodwill as Maru. A collision with Mew's Barrier. He passed through another memory, cloak vanishing once more.

He was standing again, this time with the armor on him as he looked at a smirking man in a Day-Glo orange suit. Again, no speech, but he saw his lips move through his visor. "...This armor will not disable your powers, but focus them..." Mewtwo scowled at him and lunged at him, passing through him and turning him into dust before he passed through the floor.

This time, he flew in a space where grassy terrain stretched endlessly around him, massive mountains blocking any sky around him. Strangely, his body was in slo-mo but he still flew at a fast pace judging by the speed he passed the grass at. More memories sprung up like flowers around him: Teleporting a kidnapped Nurse Joy into his palace. Seeing his cloned Nidoqueen with her (somehow-born) children graze in the canyon. The hundreds of mechanical arms coming at him. Finding the tarp his cloak originally was being thrown away on the curb. Another memory.

He was standing in the middle of his spiral staircase, on the floor, looking at the trainers across from him. He couldn't see him entirely, but he saw what looked like a boy with jeans and a vest of sorts holding a pokéball. "He may not have a nickname, but I've still got...Charizard," Mewtwo knew he said. He threw the ball. "I choose you!" Charizard appeared, looked at Mewtwo, then flamed him. Mewtwo shot up to avoid it, watching the staircase spiral around him as he went towards the disc of light above him.

After he flew through it, he was flying through clouds on a sunless sunny day. More memories flitted about him like leaves on the wind: Racing against Mew through the city. Looking at the moon with Pikachutwo and Meowthtwo. Battling Gary's pokémon. A memory flitted right in front of him and he passed into it.

He stood in a cave with water around him. He looked down again at a child—the same as before. A boy in an official Pokémon League hat smiling up at him. Soundlessly, the youth said, "...And this time, we'll both remember..." Mewtwo couldn't help himself—he gave the youth a little smile. One of gratitude. One of respect. One of friendship. He then started, to his surprise, float up and away as the scene below him was sucked away, piece by piece, leaving nothing but black. The boy was the last thing there, still smiling that same smile at him, before being sucked down.

An explosion of stars and planets came from the spot the scene had gone into. As he flew through the endless cosmos sprawling out before him, more memories came to him, forming from constellations of rectangles: His sinking of his beautiful palace and burying it (carefully) in rocks to foil any ruin seekers. His installation of prison bars in Purity Canyon. Ash trying to punch him. The breakout from Viridian Gym. Seeing that circus performer that inspired him to swordfight. Watching the chaos as his Monster Balls captured the trainers' pokémon. Being strung up by those robots. The sight of that heart-like thing coming from his chest.

Suddenly, a sun appeared above him. As he looked up at it, a memory, small and staticky, passed through his head. He couldn't hear it, but somehow, he mentally caught bits and pieces of words. "...a...s th...n..." Mewtwo widened his eyes before the the sun faded, and he looked forwards again. He was hurtling right towards Earth. Slowly, struggling against it but ultimately failing, his eyelids fluttered closed. When he did, his body and cloak snapped out of slow motion and matched the speed of his soaring. He broke through the atmosphere, through the clouds, rotating so gently. Memories spiraled around him in a tornado as he streaked down to the sea, headfirst.

And when he hit it, he was Maru again, sinking down through black, unseen waters. He fell down in peaceful slumber, water rippling his cloak, clothes, and hair. A few moments later, he gently opened his eyes, flipping slowly forwards to land softly on a platform of sorts. The invisible water faded away, leaving no excess moisture on him. He looked around in wary confusion for a moment before stepping forward. Instantly, thousands of doves flew up and away, revealing a bright white light. Maru shielded his face for a moment before standing back and watching them fly away, revealing the circular platform he stood upon. He looked up and watched them flap off into the distance, fading out of sight.

Maru looked down. At his feet was an enormous circular pane of stained glass. It depicted an asleep Mew over a background of a jungle with familiar mountains. Around it were three green borders. The outermost was plain and thin, the second was a bit wider with a zigzag pattern of lighter-colored lens shapes, and the third was covered with lines and circles that made Maru think of machines—lab machines. The Mew covered some parts of this tertiary border. The entire piece had an air of ethereal elegance to it all.

'Where am I?' Maru wondered, looking around.

So much to do, so little time.

Maru raised his eyebrows as he felt the words, not heard them. They were different from before, this time; he could not tell whose voice should have been speaking them.

Take your time.

Maru looked forwards again as a light appeared in the air at the center of the disc.

The true crisis has yet begun.

Now, come to the light. Don't be afraid.

'Why would I—oh.' Maru casually strolled forth and reached the light. When he did, it floated up and split into three parts. These parts went to three places at equal spots around the perimeter of the platform. In a flash, three pedestals appeared, each with a different weapon floating over them. One had a sword, another a shield, and the third a rod, each bearing a symbol reminiscent of a mouse's head.

What power is it that you truly value most?

Maru frowned. 'Balance, that is what,' he answered in his mind. He went to each one and tried them, jumping up onto each pedestal to get them. He went first for the sword. At the edge, he saw that he was on a green stained glass _pillar, _not just a floating platform. The sides were beautifully designed in a church-like fashion. Maru held the blade, hopping down onto the floor again.

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you value most?

Maru thought a moment, then shook his head and placed it back, where it floated once more. 'I think, human form or not, I am strong enough as I am.'

Take your time.

The voice was comforting, somehow. He didn't know why. Next, Maru tried the shield.

The power of the defender. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you value most?

Maru went through the same process. 'I was made to take a lot of hits, even super-effective ones.' He sweatdropped. 'When do I relearn Miracle Eye, by the way...' He went to the rod this time.

The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you value most?

Maru thought for another moment before again replacing it. 'While I suppose I do value inner strength above the others, I truly do prefer a balance...' He stepped to the middle of the room. "Voice, whoever you are," he called calmly, looking around him. "Must I really choose one and unbalance myself?"

Yes. But do not worry—if you follow your heart in your choice, then you will notice nothing.

Maru growled, but sighed and shook his head. 'Well, it _is _a dream,' he thought. (Mewtwo was good at catching on to things in a dream—and suddenly appearing on a stained glass pillar was one of those things.) He thought for a long moment before sighing and admitting to himself what he did value above the other two. He returned to the rod. When asked the same question after being reminded of its symbolism, he nodded. The rod disappeared in a sparkling flash.

Alright. Now...what power do you give up in return?

Maru widened his eyes before sighing in aggravation, glaring to the side. "This is stupid."

_Oh well._

Maru could sense the toneless words' tone and rolled his eyes before stepping into the center once more. 'Why am I even doing this? Ugh...' He looked into himself once more. With a bit of a grudging acceptance, he walked to the shield. The voice gave the description again.

Is this the power you give up?

Maru couldn't help but feel a bit scared. 'Giving up the power of defense...that makes me a bit of a...what does Mew call it? A Squishy Wizard? Well, I do not use magic, but I suppose this works. After all, tough as I am, my defenses are my worst qualities, statistically speaking.' (He had a doohickey on his computer that was capable of giving the stat analyses that pokédexes could, and had discovered his stats and un-EV'ed growth pattern while building his palace. Sheer common sense isn't the only reason he has Barrier up a lot of the time...) He almost shook his head and instead shook it mentally. 'It is only a dream,' he told himself. 'Besides...how much of a difference would it be if it were real? Not like it would affect me in any extreme fashion...right?' He nodded. The shield disappeared.

You value the power of the mystic. You give up the power of the defender. Is this the path you choose?

Maru nodded. The sword disappeared and the platform began to rumble as the pedestals started to sink into small pools of darkness. Maru grunted in surprise and tried to keep his balance.

So be it.

The platform shattered, and Maru fell down into darkness. He closed his eyes and protected his head from any falling glass. When he opened his eyes, he was falling upside-down towards another pillar. This time it was blue. The borders followed the same layout as before save for the tertiary one. The background was divided unevenly in two with the right half forming a crescent shape. The foreground depicted a sleeping version of him in his tube, in three stages that grew behind the first form. (Said first form surprised him a little. '_That _is how I looked like as a baby?...I...I actually kind of looked...dare I say it..._cute_...') The other part of the background was bubbling, dark amber fluid. In the white crescent, very faintly, was the silhouette of a long-haired little girl. Less faint were a few familiar, line-like markings in differently-arranged groups of pale colors—red, blue and green. The border's main motif this time was bubbles.

He flipped over and landed lightly. Suddenly, the rod appeared in his hand in a flash. Maru looked at it in surprise before the back of his neck tingled oddly. He shuddered slightly at the feeling, placing a hand on the spot. 'The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on-end...!'

You shall face many perils ahead.

From out of nowhere rose numerous small, black figures. Each was a very simple humanoid with black skin, less than five digits, pointed shoe-like feet, jagged antennae, and beady, circular, yellow eyes. They moved a lot as they crowded around Maru, who stepped back a bit at the sight of these beasts and got into stance.

Keep your light burning strong.

Maru defeated the black creatures easily. It didn't take many hits to beat them, and their strikes were weak. However, they were sprightly, and they had this annoying tendency to flatten to the floor and crawl around, evading all damage briefly before rising again, often to attack. After beating each one, they disappeared in a puff of blackness. They each took about one good combo each before biting the glass.

Maru's ground combo usually went vertical-stab-finish, and had a horizontal if needed, and he had two finishers, each depending on how many enemies were nearby at the time. His vertical had him stepping forwards with his left leg and slashing a wide arc downwards before bringing his left foot back. (He found this more comfortable for his legs than the more natural and quicker fencer's lunge for the footwork.) His horizontal followed the same footwork but had him giving a rightward slash. Not doing a real fencer's lunge with his chosen stance would have been blasphemy.

His wide finisher had him advance forwards as he reached back his right hand, left coming up and grabbing the hilt, then swung wide and strong with his left. He spun with his swing, letting his arm fly behind his back, where he passed it smoothly to his waiting right hand. He came out of his spin with a strong back-edged diagonal upper, scoring another hit on his enemy if he didn't push them back with his first swing. His focused finisher began with a simple left twirl, raising his weapon overhead and changing hands to give a spin-assisted left-handed downward swing, letting it come bearing down with added momentum since it could swing down on his left side. He grabbed it up again with his right hand as he got back to stance.

Upon banishing the final one with his Rising Strike, the hairs on the back of his neck settled and his weapon disappeared. A green flash, then a pair of teardrop-shaped geas had appeared in the center of the platform.

This shall restore your health and most of your energy, among other things. Enter it when you find it.

Maru nodded and stepped into it. He felt his wounds heal and his (barely flagged) stamina return. '...Hmmm...If this is a dream...why did my actions not feel leaden?' he pondered while standing there. 'Whenever I consciously fight or do heavy actions in a dream, because my body is not exactly fully functional, I can hardly move in the dream. But now...I did whatever I wanted and felt the pain...This _is _a dream, right?...'

Behind him, near the edge, an ornate, yet simple, wooden door appeared in a flash of light.

When you are ready, enter the door.

'To where? Off the edge?' Maru walked over and opened it. A flash of light blinded him. When it faded, he was on yet another stained glass pillar. This one was red in border and side color. He saw an image of himself, Mewtwo, standing and giving a death glare, head bowed so his mouth was unseen to increase its effect. He had his left arm out to the viewer, standing somewhat sideways, and his right arm was relaxed at his side. His tail swooshed around, following the curve of the background circle behind him. The background itself was split evenly; the left half had a dawn scene of New Island with his palace, and the right had a sunset scene of Purity Canyon's surface (before he made it into "Purity Hole-in-the-Ground", as he and Mew had termed it). The tertiary border's pattern was of his Monster Balls in outlines; within each was a black silhouette of one of the cloned pokémon he'd gotten on New Island.

You have lost your wings.

From nowhere, black, strange, half-teardrop-shaped bat-like creatures about the size of Maru's chest (well, head, excluding wing-like arms) appeared and began circling him. One of them pointed its flat head at him and a light appeared before it launched a fast-moving blast of energy. Maru dashed out of the way, his rod reappearing as he did so.

Will you lose your cool?

"Nope," Maru answered simply before he looked at the group of the odd creatures. (He could not help feeling, while he looked at them, that they looked incomplete, somehow, as if they still had yet to grow.) The battle began as he jumped up to fight the flying foes with his aerial combo, thankful he still had strong legs despite the Transformation. He had to contend with their ability to fire nearly laser-fast energy shots and their annoying tendency to ascend just out of reach (in addition to flying over the abyss that he was avoiding falling into). He found that he could use his Barrier Guard to deflect them, though it was tricky to time given the speed of the attacks. The enemies did not try and attack him physically. Still, he made relatively quick work of them.

As he battled these new foes, he felt himself gain experience as if fighting in real life—despite this being a dream. 'How odd...' Once the final bat-thing was turned to black smoke, his neck settled and rod vanished once more. A small flash of light at the edge alerted him to see a set of multicolored stained glass panes appear one by one in a curving shallow staircase downwards and off. He then noticed still another pillar appear, this one yellow, at the end. He shrugged and jogged to the path before walking it.

This fourth pillar was yellow, and depicted himself again. This time, he (Mewtwo again) was standing atop a building, presumably in Nightsky City given the shapes in the background. His cloak was on and flying out behind him gracefully, and he stood to the right, face looking up at something with a wistful non-smile on his sleeping face. At top-center of this one was a smaller circle, interfering with the tertiary border (themed with points and connected dots—stars and constellations), full of what was probably seven other circles in a hexagon formation. (His depiction's cloak was covering up the two right, one bottom, and one lower-left circles, leaving only three in the upper left corner.)

The center circle held the silhouette of a girl's head, judging by the hairstyle. If Maru looked hard, he could see two curves like closed eyes made from the stained glass metal on her face. The upper circle showed a portrait of Mew, smiling and winking in her usual playful way. The upper-left circle held a familiar, determined-smiled visage and hat. 'Ash...'

The left part of the background contained a darkened crescent. In the shadow was a depiction of him as he was now, Maru, curving his body as if falling back to fit in the crescent. He was asleep, too. Maru walked over to the center of the pillar, warily looking around. He noticed a light coming from above and walked close to it, trying to see where it came from. As he walked closer, his shadow grew longer...

The closer you are to the light, the longer your shadow grows.

"What?" Maru turned to look and raised his eyebrows. "Uh...yeah," he agreed, looking at it stretch, "but this is more a direction thing..." 'Then again, dreams are—'

An unearthly roar suddenly came from behind him. He turned to look, but only glimpsed a giant black fist before flying off in pain.

And shadows do so enjoy playing tricks on you.

'Dammit, it was a distraction...!' He saw only blackness...

Stay strong.

'...F...Fading...' Felt only air...

Keep trying.

'…' Heard only silence...

And don't forget...

Maru gasped and sat up quickly in a cold sweat, the sudden motion causing him to shake the hammock and, with flailing arms and a yelp, was deposited on the mattress below him. He shook his head, getting on his hands, and looked out the window, panting. He saw a sheet of bright, Friday morning light coming from beneath the curtain. "...It...was just a dream..." he told himself. "...Just...a really weird...dream..."

Day 6

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Friday night came, and with it, the traditional end-of-the-month all-night-all-city party. Nightsky City holds a festival called "The Dance of the Moon" at the end of each month. It was originally a night of traditional festivities and live performances by local musicians. This was until the invention of the job of DJ. Now, it's more a club-like party, complete with booze, although everyone can only have a set limit of alcoholic beverages before being cut off for the night—about three drinks per person. Thankfully, the city is _very_ serious about this, and doesn't let anyone drink without proof they're of age. Officer Jenny has never let a single underage drinker get away, nor a drinker who's had more than his limit.

Apart from the DJ, there are also live local bands, traditional festivities squirreled away somewhere in the city, and an exciting testament to the city's slightly outlawish reputation (there are tons of alleyways in the city, so scads of thugs meet and there are even gang wars every so often): A free-fight arena where fighters are decked out in foam armor and given foam weapons, then allowed to go at it. It's one of the most entertaining things the city has ever had.

Oh, one more thing, tourists: If you're in the city that night, know that the crowds will probably prevent you from being able to leave, unless you have a pokémon with Fly taught to it.

So, when Maru found a few unexpected guests entering the city before the festivities kicked off, you can imagine his sense of sorriness. Sorry that these people had to be trapped in the city for an entire night without being able to sleep, what with all the noise.

Maru stood in the square, near the south entrance into it. He wore plain, old jeans, a faded violet shirt with a barely-visible white Peace Politoed design, and no wristband that would allow him to drink since he didn't. He was debating whether he should join or not. 'Might make me feel better...Maybe if Mew or someone were here...'

"Wow, wonder what's going on?"

Maru froze and stopped himself before he turned around sharply. If there was anything he hated happening to him, it's mistaking someone for someone else. He waited instead for the familiar voice to be answered by another.

"I dunno," said another, a deeper voice than the first. "I'll check in the guidebook."

This voice was familiar, too. Maru waited for a female voice.

"I know what this is!" chimed in another male. Unfamiliar, though.

"Do tell," a female, also unfamiliar, coaxed wryly.

Maru sighed. He continued staring off into space right forward of him. He was facing at a diagonal-forward away from the entrance. Anyone coming in came from behind and to his right. He had to do a double-take when he saw Ash and Brock—unmistakable since Ash had Pikachu on his shoulder and Brock, a (former, at least) Gym Leader, was still with him, although both were dressed different—walk into the city. He restrained saying hi to that young boy and his older companion. With them was a new girl with enormous purple hair and a new young man dressed like a waiter. Maru recognized the young man as Cilan of Striaton City Gym. ('Why does this kid end up traveling with so many Gym Leaders?...')

Ash looked over his shoulder. "Really, Cilan?" he asked. "What's going on here, then?"

Cilan smiled. "Well, this is Nightsky City, and it's the last Friday night of the month, right?" he asked, looking at the others.

Brock nodded. "I still can't find it yet," he said, leafing through the guide book he had. "But I think I know what you're talking about."

Ash turned, stopping a little ways from Maru. "So what's special about tonight?" he asked. "Pika?" went his best friend on his shoulder.

Cilan chuckled. "Well, you see, Nightsky City holds 'The Dance of the Moon,' a celebration dating back to the early days when this place was still a calm little village. It's got traditional festivities somewhere in the city, but the main course's here, in the city square." He motioned with his hand. "As you can plainly see, they're just about to get set for the party that'll be going on all night long, free to everyone in the city. They've got a DJ and some local bands playing, and...a huge cage...?" He put a finger to his chin and looked up, thinking. "Now, what's that for, again?"

Maru stepped forward, crossing his arms in a classic Mewtwo pose. "That is for the human-vs.-human battles fought with foam weapons and armor," he supplied. The four young ones turned and looked up at Mewtwo, but not that much. In fact, Maru was about as tall as Brock. An axew poked its head of the girl's hair and looked, as well.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Human vs. human?" he repeated, looking up into, although he didn't know it, a familiar pair of eyes.

Maru SMILED down at Ash. He had even had a friendly smile on before. He'd learned to do so a while back, although it still felt unnatural. This time, though, it was at least slightly genuine, since he'd admired Ash's courage and resilience, therefore respecting him. He said, "Yes, humans fighting each other. It is completely safe, however, as they wear foam armor and use fake, foam-covered weapons. I recently picked up swordfighting, and I wish to enter into the ring." He chuckled. "They in fact hold a little tournament a few fights in. I wish to see if I can win." Lately, the few fights he had been doing against the thugs in alleyways had been a little bit easy, and so he wanted to see how long he would last. 'Yeah, right, you want to kick everyone's asses; quit kidding yourself.'

Brock raised an eyebrow, looking hard into Maru's eyes. "...Sorry for staring," he said after Maru began staring right back, "it just feels like I've met you before, that's all; your eyes remind me of someone."

Ash lowered his eyebrows slightly as he thought, too. Pikachu copied him. "Y'know, I'm getting that same feeling, Brock," he said.

The girl cleared her throat, drawing attention to her. "Ash, it's rude to stare at people," she admonished, "and you _both_ should know that, especially you, Brock," she said, looking at the gym leader. She closed her eyes and held her hands up. "Not like I didn't expect you to do that, Ash. You're such a kid!" Ash frowned at this.

Brock raised his eyebrows and held up his hands. "Sorry, Iris, it's just he really does remind me of someone, that's all," he said. He turned to Maru. "I'm sorry if we've bothered you, sir," he apologized to him.

Maru held up a hand, smiling (and sweatdropping). "Not a problem." He let it down. "By the way, you all, do you know that once you enter this city on this night, you will not be likely able to leave until at _least_ 6 A.M.?" he asked, crossing his arms and slouching a little.

All four humans sweatdropped. "Wh-wh-why?" Ash asked. "Pika?"

Maru chuckled. 'I love unnerving people like that _way_ too much...' "Well, the partiers will be so thick, it will be hard to escape, that is why," he explained, and couldn't help laughing out loud a little at how absurd that idea sounded, and the fact that it was so true. He was certain people did that on purpose.

Brock groaned, crossing his arms. "Great, and with the music, we probably won't be able to sleep," he said.

Maru shook his head. "Afraid not," he said.

Cilan chuckled. "Oh, come on, Brock, Ash," he said, looking at both of them brightly, "I think that we need a good party to mix things up a bit! I love concerts, and this has a similar flavor, don't you think?"

Ash, Brock, and Pikachu all sweatdropped again. Ash put a hand behind his head and looked to Maru in an embarrassed eyes-closed smile. "Uh, could you tell us where the Pokémon Center is?" he asked. "I at least want to get my pokémon healed before this party starts."

Maru laughed. "Well, too late for THAT, I fear," he said, nodding to the DJ.

As if on cue, a loud voice immediately boomed over the speakers around the place. _"HHEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY-EEE-YYYYYOOOOO!"_ it shouted, causing more than a few to cover their ears or flinch. "EV-ER-AY-_BOH_-DAYYY! C'MON DOWN TO THE CENTER OF NIGHTSKY SQUARE, CUZ THE _TIME_ HAS _COME_ TO _PAAARRRR_-TAAYY!"

Instantly, droves of people cheered and began racing towards the center of the square. Ash and friends almost got swept away, and Pikachu almost got knocked off and lost forever under the trampling feet. Ash held onto Pikachu for dear life, Iris doing the same with Axew. "I SEE WHAT YOU MEAN!" he shouted to Maru over the noise. Maru laughed.

Eventually, the crowds died down, and Maru led the group to the center. They introduced each other, as per unwritten pokémon law(If you ever meet up with Ash, you must state your name and, if it is not done so directly afterward, ask for the group's names. Stating occupation is usually done with name, though is not required). Maru learned that Brock had decided to visit the Unova region to both study some new Breeder techniques and meet up with Ash again, and wasn't currently traveling with the young Trainer. They got there in one piece (and still with all their cash). Maru decided to act like a normal person and go off on his own to join the party, making his way to the battle ring.

-v-

In the center, after everyone's pokémon were healed (and Brock was ear-pulled away from his attempts at romancing Nurse Joy by Cilan), Ash and Brock sat and talked while Iris went to the bathroom and Cilan called home to check in with his brothers. "He sounds like it, doesn't he?" Ash asked his longtime friend in a slightly hushed voice.

Brock nodded. "Yeah. Those eyes look a lot like its," he added, "but softer, calmer...but I could have sworn I'd seen some sort of sorrow in them."

Ash nodded. "Me, too," he agreed. He turned to his other friend. "What about you, Pikachu? You think you know who Maru reminds us of?" he asked.

Pikachu crossed his arms and nodded a couple times, eyes closed. "Pi, ka," he said each nod.

Ash smiled. "You sure?" he asked. He knew how much Pikachu enjoyed charades, and he usually was fairly clear.

Pikachu nodded. "Ka!" He got into pose, narrowing his eyes into a glare, sucking in his stomach, and crossing his arms. His mouth even formed right and his ears bent back a bit. "Hmm!" he went, voice as low as he could.

Ash laughed. "Yep! That's it, all right!" he said, pointing.

Pikachu returned to normal and made a happy "Chu-kaa!" before leaping from his seat on another chair beside Ash in the lobby and over to Ash's lap.

Brock smiled. "Yeah," he said. His mouth went straight again, though. "But he couldn't _possibly_ be it, because, well, you know..." He shrugged at the memories that had been restored a while back.

Ash nodded, a concentrating expression now on his face. "I know," he said. "But his voice, his style of speech, and his eyes...That and the way he walks. Very straight arms, precise strides, you know?"

"Yeah. And his posture. He only slouched when he was being facetious like that. But the pokémon we know would never have done that." Brock shrugged. "Besides, why would it even _want_ to use Transform to become human? I thought it—well, he, I guess, given Maru's sex and gender—hated us."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "The way I remember, he seemed a little more accepting of us. I mean, he DID let Team Rocket off in their balloon, and even gave us one, when we were at Purity Canyon," he pointed out. "(Sex _and _gender? Aren't they the same thing?)"

Brock gave an "Oh, yeah," jerk back of the head and nod. "You're right. But...wait, maybe he needs to in order to go about and get food, if he even needs it," conjectured the breeder. "(Sex is physical, gender is perception.)"

"(Ah.) Maybe..."

The three "hmmm"ed in chorus, crossing their arms and heads bowed in thought. Cilan and Iris came over just then. "Hey, whatcha guys doing?" Iris asked.

"I heard you talking when I was on the phone," Cilan noted.

They looked up and instantly smiled and said it was nothing. "Let's go see if they've got some pokémon battling going on!" Ash said excitedly, rising. "Pika!" Pikachu agreed, hopping up onto his shoulder.

Iris held a hand after him. "Uhh, but Ash, you just got your pokémon healed, you sure it's a good idea to...?" she began to ask, but knew that Ash's mind couldn't be changed. In fact, he was already out the door. She sighed. "He's such a _kid!_ Brock, Cilan, we'd better go with him so that he doesn't get lost," she said wryly, and they went out.

-v-

_ "...d luck in your new be-e-ed! Enjoy your night-mares honey...While you're restin' yo head..."_

Maru stood, arms crossed, in line at the fight cage. It was almost his turn. The tournament had begun early this month, and he'd already signed up and it was his turn. Just had to wait until these guys were done. In the background, the sound of whoops and some singing along was accompanying Basement Jaxx's "Good Luck." 'As if I need luck,' he thought to himself.

_"Maruuu!"_

"Hn?" He looked over the side of the ramp leading up into the cage. He spotted Ash and Pikachu waving from the crowd. He smiled faintly and held up a hand to acknowledge them.

_"Good luck!"_ Ash shouted to him.

Maru almost anime-fell. 'He did that on purpose, I know it!' He just chuckled and smiled wider. He turned back to the fight. '...Come on, you are being such an _idiot!_ He swings left and right, then stabs when he raises his staff like that! You should know that by now!' he thought to the fighter who was losing.

His cane had been held onto by officials, and he now had a soft sword-like foam club instead. Over the loudspeakers after the fight ended and the ring was cleared, the announcer said, "Alright! On to round two in the quarter-finals! Would Young and Maru please step up!"

Maru smiled excitedly, eyes widening in anticipation. A real challenge! It HAD to be! He ran right into the ring and skidded to a halt in his spot. As his foam armor was put on, he felt a slight nostalgia, memories of Giovanni's armor returning. He had gotten over it, though, as this was his second fight.

His opponent was a tall, strong, slicked-black-haired guy who had a sword-like club, too, but preferred a _big_ one. He was a man who obviously knew a lot about the martial arts. He was grinning. Maru smirked right back, which widened into a smirking grin. The two had seen each other fight and was excited to see if they could take the other down. Maru had won the last fight against someone big enough for him to Slashfest at, which wasn't unacceptable in the rules. The only _real_ rules were no real weapons, no hitting while your opponent is down, no shoes if you wanted to kick, and no shots to the groin for men or stabs in the breasts to women (making the latter harder to fight). Maru, of course, went barefoot, feeling the firm, cold mat underneath him. The bars on the cage were the only really lethal things in the ring.

An arm from the announcer was raised. "This quarter-final round between Young and Maru shall now commence. Fighters readyyyyyyy...?" CHOP! _"Rock!"_

Maru raced forward, as did the enemy. They met in a clash in the center of the ring, making a loud _THUMP_ sound. Maru cursed under his breath, forgetting that he wasn't half as strong as he should have been. He was at level 9 by now thanks to the various thugs he fought, as well as bouts with Ren, and those fights had been mostly straightforward, especially after he got used to Ren's patterns.

He had also paid Ren to teach him the other two moves he had done that first night—Round Blitz and Quick Blitz—and now included Round Blitz in his standard attack setup, which had that, Rising Strike, and Slashfest. He felt himself "relearn" Swift last level, but knew his body wasn't ready to handle it _quite_ yet. Confusion was still out, too, but he had never counted that as one of his main moves, anyway, due to it merely being basic telekinesis. He could now comfortably lift about six pounds with it. Disable...He wondered if he'd ever relearn that move at the rate he was going.

But now, the time for simple fighting had passed. He had to work his tactical thinking into overdrive in the ring. This guy had bare feet, too, so he can't just dodge to the side. He'd get kicked, and those hurt a lot. The big sword and the man's strength were becoming hard to bear. His only chance was to try and swing the sword to the side and thrust at the man's face. He dared not kick, since he would surely be pushed back.

So, he tried, in vain, to swing the opponent's sword away. He got pushed back a bit, losing the little sumo wrestle match. And _WHAM!_ He got nailed soon after, just when he'd regained his balance. He met the mat, and decided to act like the honor rule in place wasn't and rolled as soon as he could. He could take pain very well; being a pokémon, he could fight even if the next hit meant true death, as long as he was conscious. The fact he was literally made to fight helped with that.

Maru got to his feet and backed up a bit. He saw the one flaw in the guy's ploy, and knew it as soon as he saw Young charging straight at him right as he recovered: He obviously goes for power and pressure, not letting the enemy have a break. He was somewhat slow, though. So, Maru just anticipated his attack and tried, praying he'd do it, to dash around him. He leapt in time and dashed...skidding right behind him! He did it! And he dodged the kick, too, jumping sideways and slashing. He hit, and as the guy grunted, the pokémon/human landed his combo attack.

Young growled and swung his sword wildly in a circle, and faster than Maru had expected. The guy nailed him so hard, the poor poké slammed into the wall. Young waited until he was getting up, then ran over and slammed down his sword.

Maru sidestepped it and then decided to do something about it. He jumped onto his sword and ran up it, classic anime style. As he got midway through, he fell sideways as Young swung his weapon to shake him off. 'Took him long enough...' Maru grabbed the side of the sword, though, knowing he'd be hurting himself if it had a real edge to it, and hung on. He waited until he stopped, then, using his momentum as he flew over the edge he still held tightly onto, kicked at his skull. He landed it, knocking him down. He fell, too, but got up immediately. He waited patiently until, a second or two later, Young stirred and rose. The battle was on again, with a jump from Maru to avoid a rising swing.

Meanwhile, Ash and friends watched from below as Maru and Young fought an intense battle. This was the true confuser for Ash, Pikachu, and Brock: Why would Mewtwo want to let his enemy actually land a blow on him?

But the victor, nonetheless, was Maru. It was a hard-fought battle, but he won. Panting. And grinning like a little kid. Young, also grinning, got up after his ten seconds were up and shook hands with the young man. "Good fight," he said, panting.

Maru agreed, "Good fight." They both went off as the next two were called up.

With a chance to go down to the crowd, Maru went to talk to Ash. "So, what do you think?" he asked, still somewhat breathless.

Ash grinned. "That was _awesome!_" he answered enthusiastically. "You're good at tactics, aren't you?"

Maru chuckled. "A little, but that was more actually quick, creative thinking, really," he replied. 'Well, of _course _I am good at tactics! I tried conquering the world once, remember? You actually were the only reason I did not!'

Brock smiled. "Good job, Maru," he congratulated. "Do you like fighting?"

Before thinking, Maru replied, "Of _course _I do! I _love_ fighting other pokémon!" a bit more enthusiastically than he wished to allow. He regained control quickly, and with a sweat drop, covered, "Er, I mean, _battling_ other people's pokémon, with my own. I have none now, though, as I gave up a while back." 'How did _that _happen? Ugh...Regardless, let us hope that works...'

Ash, Pikachu, and Brock had widened their eyes, but now they went into the "Oh, I see!" motions people do. "Heh, thought you meant that you liked fighting pokémon yourself!" Ash laughed.

Pikachu laughed, too. Then, in a burst of inspiration, he quickly decided to find out if this man was Mewtwo after all. As Maru looked at Brock while the dark-haired young man spoke (mentioning his job as Gym Leader, which caught Maru's interest straight-away), Pikachu leaned and caught a quick whiff of Maru. He quickly leaned back before anyone had noticed.

"...I like breeding more," Brock was saying. "I want to become the world's best."

Maru smiled and nodded. "That is a very worthy goal, Brock, and I hope you achieve it," he said sincerely. 'Wow...that actually feels weird...I doubt I have ever said anything from my heart like that...' He looked up as the match ended. "Well, I had better get into line, seeing as I am up in the first semifinal round. Nice talking with you again!" he said, turning.

Ash and co. waved, wishing him luck.

As fate would have it, Maru won the tournament by a nose. His opponent to end was a woman with _two_ swords, and she was _out of control_. Luckily, he knew how to fight her, seeing as he had watched her and seen her fighting style. She was a constant-attack person, and Maru, with his level of 10 by then, was ready for a bit of defensive maneuvering. (He was also ready to use Swift by now, to his slight surprise; the other day, he thought he would have to be a little farther along to use it...But he decided not to use Moves during the match to be safe.)

He blocked a lot, but before a block-breaking move could be launched, he had done what in Soul Calibur II would have been called a Guard Impact; he thrust forward his guarding weapon right as the woman attacked. He threw her off-balance, long enough to get in a few hits. He did so until she became so flustered that she basically gave up. Maru had a few attack patterns of his own (he couldn't help it given his limited repertoire at the time), but, being a naturally skilled fighter, knew that if he used them over and again, he'd be found out and would be beaten. Young was the only other opponent who had no predictable attacks apart from his general battle style.

Upon defeating the young woman, he didn't feel himself level up quite yet, but he felt like he learned a move or something. After investigating it in his mind, he determined it was his ability to detect how much an enemy could take before he was down for the count. 'Oh, Scan! Where have you _been_ all my week? Seriously, you would have been _so_ handy. I could have known when to hold back on people in groups and not waste a technique shot...'

The announcer raised his right hand up in the air. "Ladies and gents, we have a WINNER!" he declared energetically. The crowd roared. "Maru has beaten last month's champion and taken the coveted champion's belt buckle!"

Maru blinked and looked at the announcer, raising an eyebrow. "'Belt _buckle?'_" he repeated. Nobody ever told him the prize was a belt _buckle!_

The announcer nodded happily and brought Maru's hand down, pressing the buckle into it. "Yep, a belt buckle. Wear it proudly, Maru, 'cuz that'll be all the proof you need to back up bragging rights for all of next month!" He turned to the audience and told them to give another round of applause for Maru, THIS MONTH'S CHAMPION!

The champ looked at the buckle in his hand. It was a normal brass buckle, rectangular, with a master ball on it. The master ball's bottom and button were mere etchings, but the top half was set in pure, beautiful opal, with the right colors and everything. To either side of the ball, in the spaces left, were embossings of nosed crescent moons with a diamond shape in the little hole of them, the symbol of Nightsky City. It was actually somewhat appealing to him. He shrugged and pocketed it.

*****RECIEVED Champion's Belt Buckle*****

_A brass belt buckle decorated with a Master Ball and Nightsky's emblem. Symbol of the current Festival Champion._

*****LEARNED Scan — Ability*****

_Displays enemies' HP when targeting or locking onto them._

He stepped down from the ring and was greeted by a wild crowd. He sweatdropped and smiled nervously. "Now, please, I want to go see my companions," he insisted, wading through the crowd. He made certain that his buckle remained with him. He made it to Ash and co., to whom he said, "What say we head to some sanctuary?"

A few minutes later, they were at the Pokémon Center again. They dived in, panting from the crazy throng. After a second, Maru looked up. "See what I...mean, when I...said you could...not get out...before the party...was over?" he panted to Ash, chuckling.

Ash nodded. "Yeah..." He panted a bit harder than Maru, but still managed to laugh. "Wow, and I thought...journeying was tough!"

Maru smirked. "Escaping a tight crowd...is much harder than a journey could be," he replied wryly. They went and sat in the lobby, regaining their breath. "Sleepy yet?" he asked them, noting the time of 10:43 P.M.

They all shook their heads. "Hey, Maru, may we see that belt buckle?" asked Iris, leaning over. Maru smiled and fished it out. Everyone crowded around to look at it. "It's beautiful," she gasped, looking at the stone set within the brass. "...That's opal, I think."

Cilan leaned over and looked a moment. "Hmmmm...Yeah, looks like," he appraised.

Maru nodded. "I thought as much." He took off his belt (which was just for show, anyway), removed the old, plain buckle, and put the new one on. "I usually am not one for these kinds of things," he said, rethreading the belt through the loops, "but I believe I will make an exception this time." He pulled on the collar of his cloak and freed his neck from sweat for the moment. "So, Ash," he said, finding now to be a great time, "are you a Trainer?"

"You bet!" Ash smirked, clenching a fist classic Ash-style. "I'm going to be a Pokémon Master!"

'How like a little kid he is,' Maru mused, 'while he looks like he as seen much.' "I find that Trainers have lots of interesting tales to tell," he said casually. "If you do not mind me asking, could you relate a few? You know, interesting happenings, achievements, the like."

Ash blinked, caught off-guard. "Wow, you mean you're asking me to talk about my journey?" he asked. Maru nodded. "Wow...never been asked _that_ before..." 'Well, except by Mom and Prof. Oak and stuff.' Ash looked away, then smiled and looked back with his trademark determined face. "Alright, then, Maru, I guess I'll give it a shot!"

Maru smiled. "Thank you, Ash. I know it is a little prying, but I really am interested in the odd tales that some Trainers have." And this was true. He sometimes would ask a few Trainers coming through about some things they have done, usually at times when they mention some things. Of course, he apologized for eavesdropping, but nobody really cared.

So, Ash began talking about his journey and some of the more interesting events along the way. Getting Pikachu, meeting Misty and Brock, his Gym battles, a few unique Trainers he had met such as Richie, legendaries he had encountered (Brock even interjected, saying that he and Misty had a bet the time when Ash and Richie saw Articuno that they actually _would _meet the legendary bird), and even some of the stories from the movies we know. He didn't sound at all boastful that he had saved the world once.

He made absolutely no mention whatsoever of Mewtwo, although he did mention meeting some scientists at Purity Canyon; that was it, though, and for that, Mewtwo was grateful and pleased. 'He kept our unwritten bargain that he speaks of Mewtwo to nobody.' Regardless, he felt a little sad not being mentioned.

Afterwards, when Ash explained his journey up to the point he was at at that point in Unova (shortly after Castelia), he sat back and took a drink from his water bottle. It was 11:10 by then, but Ash felt good telling his stories. It had brought back memories to Brock and Pikachu, and Iris and Cilan, knowing more about Ash, had a bit more respect for him. Of course, at least Cilan only really believed his movie stories when he talked about the saving-the-world thing; he remembered watching the tv about that time in the Orange Islands, and how a lone boy and a girl named Melody had, with Lugia, stopped the three legendary birds and that collector guy. Even so, he doubted Ash could have been that same boy.

Maru sat back and crossed his arms. "Very impressive, Ash," he said. 'Indeed. He has a pure soul, and is filled with determination enough to rival my own.' He thought about Ash telling about how he was the "chosen one". 'His purpose was to save the world...He actually had a purpose. But now, that is gone, and yet he still strives for a purpose he believes is his: To become a Pokémon Master...' He looked at the clock. 'I wish...I wish I could be the same...for I suppose my purpose in life was to fight, but that is past. What, then, is my purpose now? And is that purpose my true one?'

"Maru? What's up?" Ash asked, the silence worrying him. He leaned forwards a bit and gave a slight, concerned frown.

"Hm?" Maru looked back and sweatdropped. "Sorry, I spaced out. Stories like those make me think, that is all," he apologized. He sat forward again. "Who knows what adventures you may have next," he shrugged. "Maybe you will have another one like when you rescued your mother in the tower of the Unown. I must say, Ash, you are a very brave and determined young man, and, as your Badges show—" (Ash had shown him all of his Badges, which he kept with him someplace on him at all times, at least in the form of official certificates he got before leaving the real deals safe at home) "—a great Trainer, as well. I am not the least bit surprised your Pikachu knows such powerful moves as Volt Tackle and Electro Ball." He looked to Pikachu and smiled.

Pikachu made a happy "Chaa!" back, making a knock-you-dead-cute smile. Ash looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "Aww, c'mon, I'm not _that_ good," he said. "I actually got a few of my first Badges helping out the Gym Leaders, not actually beating them, and the Earth Badge barely counts, since Team Rocket is easier to beat than an egg!...Well, they _were_ back then, at least," he gave, planing a hand. "I think they finally learned when I got here...after however many hundreds of beatings we gave 'em!" Everyone laughed, agreeing.

Maru grinned, perhaps a little evilly, at this. He hated Team Rocket, the actual team and not the trio (who were currently outside, wondering how on Earth they were going to find their contact amidst this crowd), and although he knew that was who Ash was speaking of, he enjoyed thinking that Team Rocket was that easy nonetheless.

The clock chimed. 11:15. Everyone looked at it and commented on how late it had become. Maru smiled and got up. "I think that is enough partying for tonight, eh?" he asked. "You must be tired by now."

Ash and co. shook their heads. "Not in the least," Cilan said.

"Besides, like you said before, how can we get to sleep with all that noise?" Iris motioned to the door, through which a cover of (the original version of) "Star Line" poured muffledly.

Maru shrugged. "Alright, but I think I am going to go back outside and watch the performers a bit," he stood. It took a second to remember that he should offer, "If you want, you could accompany me."

Of course, they said they would.

As soon as they stepped out, the entire group knew something was wrong. Or, at least, they could all feel it. It hit like a wave coming out of the Center. Maru especially felt it. He set his face from happy to serious. "Do you..." he began, not turning to look.

Iris nodded. "Yeah, I've got the creeps right now," she answered, frowning. "Ax, axew," Axew whined before hiding in Iris' insanely huge hair.

"Me too," Ash narrowed his eyes. "Pii-ka-piiii..." Pikachu squeaked uneasilly.

Brock crossed his arms. "I've got some feeling of dread or something," he said.

"It's just dread that we're going to get pickpocketed," Cilan dismissed it easily, holding a finger up and smiling, "and it's kinda windy right now, so that's why we've all got chills."

Maru turned to look at them, and the serious, classic Mewtwo expression on his face startled Ash, Pikachu, and Brock. He half-eyed at Cilan's attempt to hide his nerves, then told them, "I have not told you yet, and it may not look like it, but I am actually a psychic, like the Kanto Gym Leader Sabrina. I am currently picking up on something. I do not know what, but I can tell that something is coming. I feel it strongly." 'This is not like a true sense...it is like...like...' He gasped, remembering. 'Like when I fought those black pokémon with the white eyes! I felt a feeling of dark intents, but I dismissed it as something being spread all around by the enemies on all sides and the wall!'

The back of his neck started to tingle, and he put a hand on it with a grimace. "...The hairs on the back of my neck are—" he began to mutter before his eyes widened. '...standing...on-end...' His hand slowly slid off his neck. '...It _cannot_ be...I mean...' But this was the nail in the coffin for this situation. He looked up suddenly, alarmed, and drew his cane. "Everyone, stay with me," he ordered. "I have a feeling this night will not end very well..."

Everyone followed his gaze skyward, but only saw darkness. However, Pikachu and, after peeking out curiously, Axew, gasped. They, as well as Mewtwo, saw something only pokémon eyes could see, and any pokémon in the area looking up saw it, too.

A swirling dark cloud.

'...it was just a _dream_...right?'

-v-

"You see it, don't you? ...That's the signal, you know. The time has finally come to see if it's you they'll choose."

Kotetsu gasped and turned to find a man in a black mantle with a tentacruel-like mask looking down at him. In his room. "Who are you?" he asked, backing away in alarm.

"I'm not anybody; not in particular, but just plain at all," he said cryptically. And he disappeared.

Kotetsu ran for his mother, scared out of his wits. But he discovered something odd: Nobody was home. He hadn't heard anyone leave. They just...

He burst outside, making his final mistake.

-v-

The lead guitarist of the little show band of one human and the rest pokémon, a machop, glanced up at the sky. The cloud caused him to stop playing, seeing as looking at it paralyzed him with a feeling of dread. The other pokémon looked over at him, followed his gaze, and stopped, too. Soon, the lead singer was singing _a capella_, and she turned to look at her pokémon bandmates. All of them, including her trained chattot backup singers (essential in the Genki Rockets song with its layered vocals), were looking up. She did, too, and gasped. She saw it, too, and didn't know why. But it scared her.

"Amberi?" asked an off-stage guy who helped run the event in a hoarse whisper. "What the hell are you guys doing? _Play!_" He looked up. "Are you all _stoned_ or something? PLAY!"

The audience had stopped jumping and was now looking up at her band, muttering about what was going on. Amberi only said one thing into the microphone:

"It's starting to rain..."

Thing is, that night was a very clear one, indeed. The sky was shining with stars, although nobody could see that.

At least, not until all the lights went out.

-v-

"Shit...?" Before he could get anything else out, Maru had a large black thing pelting down towards him, one of the many beginning to fall. He swung, but his cane went clear through the black blob. And it almost fell onto him if Pikachu hadn't zapped it.

Ash looked down. "What's going on, Pikachu?" he asked. "Why'd you—"

"C'MON!" Maru roared, and began to run. 'I might be able to use Swift on them, but I have to get these guys to safety—and with my condition, being on the move would be a good plan, regardless...' Ash and the others followed. He thought about asking to get their pokémon out, but then, someone screamed a blood-curdling shriek. He turned and looked as a black form, just like the ones from his dream, held up a glowing pink heart, like the one he saw that same night. The person it took it from fell, and confused people all around murmured why, then lots of surprised yelps.

The person had disappeared.

Ash was about to bring out his pokémon, but Maru stopped him. "NO! Do not send your pokémon, else they run the risk of disappearing, like that woman over there," he said. Everyone had seen.

And as the looks in their eyes told, so could everyone else.

"OH MY GOD!"

"WHAT THE—?"

_"AAAAHGHHHHHH!"_

'What the _fuck_ is going ON?' Maru roared in his head, but ran still, leading the group onwards and away from peril. The creatures were everywhere now, all falling from that dark cloud. They were on the streets, and he almost ran into one if Pikachu hadn't snapped his attention back forwards. "CHUUU!" the rodent grunted as another..._thing_ bit the dust. Maru turned towards him and thanked him.

"~Why the hell aren't YOU doing anything?~" the pokémon asked back (in his own language, of course).

Maru gritted his teeth. "Not now!" he growled shortly, then wondered why he wasn't and launched a quick Swift, which, in his human form, consisted of a swing of his cane, sending out three stars of light that quickly homed in on a nearby opponent—which it struck, defeating it with the third star! "A-_hah!_ Okay, maybe getting your—"

The sound of pokéballs opening resounded from behind. Ash, smart kid, had found that only pokémon hurt these black things, and the other Gym Leaders (in training or not) followed suit. Soon, they were all running, Maru feebly slashing and using Swift when it reloaded, Pikachu shocking with all his little might, and the others running along, their pokémon protecting them from the endless swarms of the black creatures.

"I didn't know human psychics could use Swift!" Cilan couldn't help but notice, intrigued. He was kind of smiling a bit despite all. "What an intriguing flavor!"

Maru sweatdropped, having an idea what character trope Cilan might have qualified for were Mew there...'Wait..._Mew!'_ Maru gasped. 'Is she being affected by this, too? Did the Pokédan try to come and get hampered by all of these _things_ like us? She can take care of herself, but the others...I am unsure of their strength, spiritual aside...'

But they couldn't last long. The people around them were running hither and thither, yelling and screaming. Tens upon hundreds upon thousands of them, it seemed, fell to the antennae-branded things. Some of the creatures were now even in little suits of whimsical armor, knocking people down with spinning kicks. Maru couldn't hit anything with his improvized weapon. Nobody could even kick them away. Only the people who _knew_ what they were doing, the ones who had made it far into the battle finals that now seemed ages ago, actually hit. Maru saw their example and tried to kick, putting his heart into it.

'Heart...wait...these things are after hearts! Real _hearts!_ _SOULS!'_ he realized, after—thankfully—knocking one down. He had to kick to do damage aside from Swift, but he couldn't last long running and kicking between reloads. That's what a weapon was for: Fighting with freedom of movement. _"If your pokémon get hit by one of them and knocked down, recall them!"_ he warned. He soon got tired from kicking after the group had battled their way to the stage. Once there, they found they were cornered. Not many people were left, and replacing the huge crowd of happy humans were these dark beasts, hungry for hearts. Maru cursed. _"WHY must my powers go now? WHY?" _he screamed, Swifting a group of three and following it up with a good kick.

Ash and the others tried kicking off baddies, as well, but they had no success. Well, except for Iris, who had been having the easiest time avoiding attack, but she was getting tired, too. Their pokémon, like Maru and Pikachu, were tiring, as well. Soon, all had been recalled. Ash and the others grouped together. "What's going to happen?" asked Ash, frightened. "What's going on?"

"I'm not even gonna _try _and explain _this _one away!" Cilan admitted in wry panic, sweatdropping.

Maru grunted, kicking off another one. "An invasion by aliens?" he suggested. "But we cannot let them steal our hearts! That is what they are after! I cannot let that happen to my _friends!"_ He was more tired than he had ever felt in his life. And it showed: He got hit. And again. And was down. He got back up, but it was difficult, seeing as some sludge was forming around him. He growled and Swifted it away point-blank, grunting at the slight pain from the very weak splash damage.

"YEEEEEK!"

"HEEELLP!"

"PIKACHUUU!"

_"BAD_ MOLASSES! _BAAAAAAD!"_

Maru turned, his own heart turning freezing. The humans were sinking, as if in quicksand, into the black ooze that the creatures were becoming. "NO!" He tried to run, but was stuck again, and could only fight sinking, himself.

"PIKA!" Pikachu tried to zap them free, but had a hard enough time keeping himself afloat.

"AX_EWWW!"_ Axew cried, very scared.

Ash's pained face suddenly brightened. "That's it! Dragon Sneeze!" he exclaimed half hysterically. "Iris, make Axew use Dragon Sneeze to free us!"

"'Dragon'...?" repeated Maru and Brock, puzzled.

Iris and Axew looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, but Iris widened her eyes when she heard what he wanted. "Right! Axew, quick, do it, do it!" She grabbed Axew and held him up.

Axew opened his mouth, and a blue ball of light began to form inside. "Aaaaaaaaaaa—" the little guy began.

"C'moooon..." Ash frowned hopefully, clenching his fists up to his face. Brock and Cilan wore similar expressions.

But Axew was cut off by a glob of sludge falling on top of him, smothering him completely and causing the attack to fail—and not in the way Ash wanted. "Huh?" Ash squeaked in confusion and exasperation. The ooze was now covering the entire city. It rained it. The creatures became it. It flowed out of fountains. Poured from building windows. It was a storm of ink that took your body and soul. Everyone's hearts sank deeper than their bodies.

The only one not looking up was Iris. _"Axew, NO!"_ She tried desperately to clear the muck off of her friend, but it was getting hard for her arms to move—she and the others were in to their waists.

Maru grimaced and shook his head. "No...!" He fired volleys of Swift at the gunk beneath them, aiming for an area where the splash would free some of all four humans. It cleared away some gunk, and they tried to get out...but it wasn't enough. _"No! Dammit, NO!" _Maru reached out for them, but they were too far down, now.

The two pokémon still afloat could only watch in horror as their friends sank into the black sludge.

Brock went down, reaching to Maru. _"Whyyyyyyy!"_ He disappeared.

Iris went down, reaching to Maru. _"Aaaahhhhhh!"_ She disappeared.

Cilan went down, reaching to Maru. _"Uwwaaaaahh!"_ He disappeared.

And Ash went down, reaching to Pikachu. _"PIKACHUUUUUUU!"_

His hand disappeared beneath the ooze, and he was gone. _"~NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" _Pikachu and Maru screamed in unison (in respective tongues).

Pikachu turned to Maru with such pain and confusion it scared him. _"~Why?~"_ he demanded. "_~Why_ did you let him _die? _You could've _SAVED HIM!~"_ He zapped with what waning energy he had left. "~You're supposed to be the best, _right?~"_

Maru growled and fought to free his legs. _"I lost my powers! I __**said**__ that!"_ he yelled back, voice tightening a bit. "Otherwise, these things would never have come this far!" He was crying, and he put a hand to his face. He gave up trying to stay afloat and sank lower and lower. "I failed...I failed to save myself, I failed to protect this city, I failed _my friends!" _He clenched his cane tighter and tighter. "I failed..._I failed! WHY?_"

Hysterical and seething with rage, Mewtwo whipped his head up to the dark heavens. _"IS __**THIS**__ MY PURPOSE? TO __**FAIL**__ AT ALL I DO? EVEN TO PROTECT MY __**FRIENDS?**__ If so," _he screamed, and pointed his cane out where the moon once was, barely able to do so, he had sunk so low,_ "THEN I __**OBJECT**__ AND __**DARE YOU **__TO __**CHANGE MY MIND!"**_

His challenge reverberated across the city. He remained still, having lost almost all hope, rage and self-disgust being the only things he could comprehend. He almost came down over his head. Almost...until a bright light pierced the bleak scene, dazzling the pokémon after so much dimness. Maru, barely able to see, looked down as he was somehow pulled up and the sludge shrank back. The light, he saw, came from the direction of his still-outstretched right hand. When the light faded, the stage was free of ooze. Pikachu was still there, panting and looking up, cheeks sore from squeezing so much to shock. And when Maru looked at his right hand, he gasped.

There, shining in the dim light, in place of his cane, was the oddest thing that he could ever imagine using as a weapon: A giant, metal key.

And it had _power_. He could feel it. And he knew that the black things hated it, as he now was surrounded by a zone where the ooze (which had returned) couldn't get to him. Pikachu, smart little scamp, was now inside it. "~What the heck?~" he asked, looking up at the key strangely.

Maru looked at it, bewildered. Its bit was a dusty violet and shaped strangely yet elegantly, and the straight barrel made an abrupt curve in the middle of the bit. The barrel was silvery steel with a black belt wrapped tightly around it in a crisscrossing double-helix. The handle was composed of the hilt; the cross-guard was shaped like a bronze crescent moon with some intents in its thicker part. The cross-guard curved almost the entire way around the crisscross-etched grip, forming a double hand guard. The circle was completed with a wide isosceles triangle-shaped flat metal pommel, which had a hole in it towards the bottom. Through this hole went a keychain of a bronze crescent surrounding a metal Master Ball. It was lighter than it looked and gave off an air of stability. Overall, it felt...somehow suitable to him, both in appeal and compatibility. "I...I have no idea," he replied. "And I thought a giant _spoon_ was a crazy enough idea for a weapon for use by psychics...A _key?_ Why?..."

_"~Look out!~"_

Maru spun around and, through reflex, slashed at the dark thing leaping up to get him. _And it went bye-bye._ For a second, Maru looked at the weapon with awe. Then, he nodded, as if understanding, and turned. New vigor filled him. He could _fight_ again. And _damn_, did he know how to fight. Along with ooze, thousands of the creatures swarmed about the two. "Pikachu, get on and rest," he ordered without looking down. Pikachu did so, getting up onto his shoulder and holding on for dear life. "It's time to take care of these things." He got into stance.

They charged, and he ran forth and met them.

-v-

Kotetsu knew not what was happening. Nor did he know why that ooze was forming around him. He knew only that it was scary, scarier than a teenager should be expected to handle alone. Those people before him fell to those...things, and he didn't like it. It made him shudder. He knew what was going on. Their hearts were being stolen. The screams they made before their heart was stolen...the look of utter distress upon their faces...And those four bigger kids on the stage just now, they looked so horrified...Kotetsu was afraid to sleep again, lest he have nightmares. That is, _if_ he slept again.

"HEELLP!" he cried. "SOMEBODY! _HEEEAAAALLLP!"_ He looked around. Nobody. No Agents or Ouendan to save the world. He was alone, and too far for the person now attacking the beasts that had appeared viciously to help him.

Kotetsu didn't care what that bright flash was, because he, a coward of a 14-year-old boy, was worried about himself first and foremost. But those bullies weren't there, either. And when he saw their hearts be stolen, he felt like, somewhat, they deserved it. He knew it to be wrong, but...he couldn't help it. He didn't know why, but he had been feeling a growing, horrific feeling in his chest lately.

He looked about, stressed to the limit and distraught. _"Please! Heelllp meee!"_ he screamed.

_"Kotetsu?"_

Heart fluttering, he spun around and almost broke down in joy. "Amberi! You're alive!" His one and only friend, Amberi. She was a talented musician interested, as he was, in psychics and pokémon. She was, for some reason, apparently immune to the ooze, since she was running on top of it and not making so much as a ripple. She was only a year older than he was, and so pretty. She had amber eyes, long black hair, and a sweet smile and voice that could hit just about any note it wanted.

Amberi, clutching to her trusty bass guitar, which was somewhat busted from beating those things back, ran over. (It appeared musical instruments could deal damage to them, for some reason.) "Kotetsu!" she cried, approaching. "How the hell are you okay?" She looked down. "You...you're being protected," she answered herself softly, awestruck. "Like that guy who yelled a bit before." She looked up slowly, eyes full of wonder. "How?"

Kotetsu shrugged, ran over, and clutched to her for dear life. "I dunno," he sobbed quietly, "but I'm scared. Mom and dad aren't home, nobody's home...they disappeared before these..._things_ came...Are your pokémon friends okay?" he asked.

Amberi held her friend close, bowing her head, sighing. "...I have them in their emergency balls, with me," she answered. "Kotetsu, let's just stay together and wait this out. I'm scared, too." She held out Kotetsu like a mother would hold her child, in front of her and by the shoulders. "I'm okay. I dunno why, but the gunk's just not sticking to me."

Kotetsu, who always was like a little kid when he got scared, whimpered. "Amberi...I just want it to stop..."

Suddenly, the ooze leapt up and splashed between the two, separating them. Amberi, caught off-guard, shrieked and reached out for Kotetsu, who remained protected. Amberi became engulfed.

_"AMBERI!"_ Kotetsu roared, reaching, the wall of goo blocking him.

_"KOTETSU!" _And that's all we heard from Amberi before she, too, was gone.

Kotetsu stood for a second, still reaching, then got to his knees. He stared at the spot she was in just a second ago. He didn't know what he could hold on to anymore. He was certain he was going to go insane. This was too real to be a nightmare.

"I can make it all stop."

He looked up. The wall of ooze had turned into the mantled figure from before. "Who _are_ you?" he whispered on a shaky breath, eyes showing tears of confusion, sadness, strife, and hatred. At who, nobody knew.

The figure held out a black-gloved, black-sleeved hand. "Your destiny. Now, take my hand, and I will make it all go away. You are the one I wanted to find. Only you."

Kotetsu gulped. He had no choice. Decline, and he loses his mind. Accept, and...wait..."What have I got to lose?" he slowly realized. He stood up sullenly, head down. He held a hand out. "Just make it stop," he said. "Make it all go away." And he took the man's hand.

-v-

The next thing Maru knew, he and Pikachu were flying straight up through the sky. He looked at where they were heading, or trying to while he spun about. He kicked and swung until he stopped spinning. There, in the sky, was a huge, glowing, black orb. Objects were flying towards it. "What the—?"

"~MEW-TWOOO!~"

Pikachu was hanging on for dear life. He was being separated from Maru. _"Pikachu!"_ Maru grabbed just in time to stop him from flying completely. The two held onto each other, flying off. But their grip was slipping, Pikachu's fur being too soft and smooth and sweat-slick for Maru's own sweaty palms to hold on for long. "No, Pikachu!" Maru grunted through gritted teeth. "I—cannot—let you go—like I did—to your Trainer!"

Pikachu was crying, tears flying off into the strange portal, coming ever closer. "~Mewtwo...I'm sorry for what I said,~" he said. "~I didn't mean it...I believe you; you can't use _anything_, can you?~"

Maru growled. "I _can_, and I _will_," he replied. "I _refuse_ to let this nightmare end it all!" They entered the portal, becoming engulfed in neverending darkness. He felt his grip slipping. Although they both knew that it was futile, Maru shut his eyes to stop the tears as he said his farewell: "I vow to you, Pikachu, friend of the one who saved my life twice over, that I shall not turn my back upon you or any other of my friends, and therefore you _will_ see me again, with both of us alive and with our hearts!"

And Pikachu, with a hopeful smile as he heard the vehemence in the once-cruel pokémon's voice, said only a simple, "~Okay,~" before he felt himself slip away, both into the darkness and into unconsciousness.

Maru reached after him as he flew right away from him. He frowned painedly, then sighed, closing his eyes briefly, feeling fatigued from the night. When he opened them, he was falling towards a familiar platform. He settled down onto it gently before looking around.

It was the last pillar from his dream last night.

He looked up and saw the light again. He looked around to see if his shadow was—yes, it was stretching out. As soon as he saw this, he dived down and to the side as something huge whooshed through the air behind him.

He got up and turned, gripping his key tightly as he looked up at two menacing, insane, lifeless white circular eyes staring at him. The being before him was a Medusa-like-headed giant, whose upper body looked out at him from behind the edge of the pillar. A giant heart-shaped hole punctured its torso. Two tiny black bat wings came out from behind it. Maru glared harshly. "And I, Mewtwo, the Genetic Pokémon, _never_ break my promises," he breathed darkly as he got into stance. A new battle began, with a much different weapon from last time.

Maru thanked fortune that he had remembered his Scan ability as he looked up at his opponent. He had recently taken a different approach to it that worked quite nicely for him: He got a mental image of a green bar representing the enemy's health, like a video game. Any smaller bars below it indicated another long bar's worth of health. He could see it go down whenever he dealt damage. The foe before him had an entire bars worth—Maru was still working out the points, but he had an idea this meant 300 HP! 'Hm. It has a fair lot, but this should not take too long if I am careful.'

The monster reeled back a giant fist, holding it. Maru held still, ready to dodge. When it finally came down, he dodged and jumped as a small shockwave and large pool of blackness (different from before) formed from around the fist. (He was more surprised that the glass didn't break.) Since his jump height was unable to reach the creature's face (his main target), he used this opportunity to run up its arm and mash at its face. Each hit with the giant key went through like a sword but left no blood, and instead created a small cartoonish burst of stylized purple stars. A larger burst resulted from a finisher. Maru had to keep his balance while up there, since he had little space to stand on its shoulder.

After a few combos, the stupid creature finally drew back, the movement causing Maru to fall off onto the platform. He noticed that the smaller creatures had been spawned below, but were now gone. He had noticed green orbs fly from them before, both in the city and in the dream, which restored his health when he absorbed them. 'I could farm them for energy if I need to later,' Maru thought.

The creature reached out with both hands and started to charge a round handful of dark energy, leaning over it. Maru took a chance and hopped up onto an arm, then hopped up to air combo it. He stayed on as it lifted the orb high before he slid off and the broke. It became many small orbs that slowly rained from the sky. Maru felt like an idiot, but running around trying to dodge them seemed the best course of action.

Then, the creature leaned back, a dark force manifesting within the hollow of its middle. With body-shaking bursts, it fired slow, dark, homing missiles at Maru. After Maru discovered this homing quality painfully, he turned and tried to block one. It worked, and it went right back at the beast, hitting it for great damage. He smirked and blocked a few more, thankful of that skill.

It repeated its pattern after finishing firing his missiles, and after one more round of standing on its shoulders, Maru dealt the final blow.

The beast staggered back, Maru standing and watching from the platform. It went back from the platform a few steps, it seemed...wait, the way its body bobbed...'That is not quite normal...What type of movement _is _that?'

It suddenly reared.

Maru yelped and tried to dive out of the way, but it was no use—the beast charged straight through the glass platform, breaking it. Maru fell down with it...down...into darkness...

...some dreams come true, whether you want them to or not.

Maru turned around in midair to see (that he could still see that) the giant was still up, now very close to him. The beast revealed itself to be a cross between man and beast, with four legs and two arms, sort of like some demented centaur. With a fierce, unnatural roar, part two of Mewtwo's biggest battle yet began. It swung a fist at him.

Reacting instantly, Mewtwo dodged it, funneling and desperately trying to push using what little telekinetic power he had. As he did so, he noticed that it now had two bars' worth of fuel—600 HP. 'It got a second wind, great...' The next blow he couldn't avoid—but he did. Somehow, in the nick of time, with a bright flash, a blur, and something that felt similar to a telekinetic push in flight, he basically swam away from the fist coming for him. He felt something in the key as he did so. There really _was_ power in the key! He nodded and decided to try and use it.

The flurry of blows that came next were dodged, one after the other, and he made his way to the lug's head. And with one more dodge, he had made the dumbass punch itself! He grabbed a writhing dreadlock as the head reeled back. Grabbing onto its head, he began Slashfesting with fury and might. Sensing he should get off after a number of good hits, he dismounted by plunging his key into its skull and pushing off with the force of that. He withdrew it as he fell away. Below, the giant roared and galloped away. 'I am doing _some_ damage, but not as much as before,' Maru noticed. 'It must have gotten a boost in defense somehow...perhaps from the darkness around me.'

Next, Maru had to look around as he fell constantly, fighting that horrible feeling you get when you fall. He found that he somehow had the energy in him again to guide his movements through the air. 'It probably is from the weapon,' he thought, despite it feeling like telekinesis. Regardless, he could guide himself on a lateral axis, but not longitudinally. For that, he either spread out his body to act as a parachute and go slowly up, or dive, funneling in this case, to go down. He looked around as his foe came galloping to him, hooves level with him. He grimaced as he narrowly avoided them. He couldn't rise fast enough, and he felt no chance appear with the key.

After a few runs, he knew he had to try and disable those legs. So, next run, he swung out at a leg. He didn't know if it hurt or not, but he swung at the weakest point he could each time on the same leg (on the knee). He could only swing once because of how fast it was going. After about four times, the centaur roared and fell to its side. Its rear leg barely missed Maru, who noticed it might have been in swinging range, as well. He saw the beast push itself up in a stand so that it could turn to face him, lowering its body and swinging at him.

Maru went through the same swimming motions to dodge the barrage of punches. He got to the head and tried to get him to hit himself. After the first dodge, which kept him nearby the face, he found that the thing had gotten smart. It had punched and gotten close to its face, but not close enough. It paused next, slowly drawing back its fist, and Maru waited. It punched again and he dodged, this time sensing the chance arrive and grabbing the dreadlock. The thing ended up punching its nose and held it with its hands in pain. A Slashfest on the back of the creature's head later, and it galloped off.

As it came by this time, Maru swung at first a front leg, then a rear on the same side. 'This is too easy,' he thought. Trying for both legs without getting hit WAS difficult, though. This time, he heard familiar firing sounds as the galloping monster returned. It was shooting him with missiles again! The blasts, brighter in color this time, came only a bit before the beast had come. Maru observed the beast had combined his two ranged attacks; he fired blasts directly, and they came up, then down onto his previous position (or current, were he stupid enough to stay put). So, he glided over to the legs instead of waited, and slashed again at each leg as it passed by, evading the blasts simultaneously (and perhaps making some land on it, as well).

After this process ended, he found the beast falling again. This time, as the rear leg came to him, he struck that again, too. When the black devil tried to stand, it found it could not. Before Maru could fly over, he became filled with energy. It came from the key again. It ignited his heart, and he felt a familiar power well up. He bared his teeth as he held the key back, getting into his familiar pose.

_Vvvvnnn...vvvvnnnnn..._Slowly, an orb of darkness began to form in his hands. It grew slowly. 'Damn! I still must not be powerful enough to do it correctly!' And sure enough, the beast got up again, so he had to disband the attack, keeping it on hold to finish charging up for later. The beast came over and tried punching him again. This time, when Maru got to the face, he expected the pause. It came, and in that time, he got three normal hits on the face in (although it did not make any movement to signify pain). Three hits, and he barely avoided the next fist. Another pause, and he swung thrice again. This time, an eye went down from its own fist. Another slashing session, and Maru was at the repeat of the battle.

The pokémon noticed it was now at about two thirds of its second and last bar, and it was getting faster. He swung at both legs again, dodging the blasts, but when he stopped his spin, he saw, too late, the huge, hairly tail coming down and swatting him like a fly. _"UUWWAAHHH!"_ he cried, spiraling off. He regained himself, though, and tried again. Two hits, and this time, he dodged the tail like he does the fists. The third try, something else unexpected happened. As it came forward, it was the midsection. All its front was beginning to glow a sick deep grape color, and Mewtwo sensed what attack it was trying. 'If I hit that front, I will be in enormous pain,' he predicted, frantically gliding away. He barely made it, the middle grazing his cloak. The fourth run was normal, but Maru was ready for anything now. It went down after the next normal run, and immediately, Maru began to charge his attack. It was nearly complete when he had to hide it again.

Again he fooled the beast into knocking itself out after three pauses of three-hit combos.

Again he slashed at its skull.

Again he dodged, slashed, and evaded the running attacks.

And finally, he had it. It went down, and he went to finish up.

_VVVVNN...!_

'At last!' Maru finished it just in time, and knew just when to release it. And at the same time, he had an idea on _how_ he should release it. He interrupted the attack again, this time a black flame flickering around the key. And this time, he dodged and landed on each fist. He leapt and jumped across the back of each one coming, getting to the face. He dodged the last one, going into the pause, and, in that time, released it, smack dab in the thing's face.

Own face contorted with rage, hatred, and finality, Maru reached back and summoned the orb again. He let go of the key, and it became one with the globe of darkness he held. "Say your prayers, demon!" Mewtwo oxymoroned. _"SHADOW BALL LOCK!"_ And with an almighty **"HIH!"**, he chucked it forth.

The Shadow Ball containing a wildly spinning key zigged and zagged as it flew right into the beast's face. When it collided, an explosion of light, fire, and darkness erupted with a primitively satisfying _KraauuBOOOOOOOOOOM!_

Maru felt the key reappear in his hand, but he didn't care. All that mattered was the behemoth swaying before him, then, with an almighty roar, collapsing and vanishing in a trillion motes of darkness. Maru felt fatigue finally overwhelm him, and he let himself tilt backwards, eyes closing. He felt his fingers released their grip on the key's.

'What...was that I faced...?' he asked. 'An...inner demon...?'

Of a sort.

*****OBTAINED Wandereason*****

_A mysterious weapon that increases Defense in a pinch._

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

This is gonna be the last chapter for a good while, methinks. Sorry. College happens. As does Academic Probation. X.X;; Hope y'all can understand n-n;;

I know, Sora and Roxas didn't talk back in their Dives, but I think Maru would, especially with that kind of choice. Gameplay-wise, his choices won't affect his stat growth to a great extreme, but will affect what he "learns". For instance, Maru felt he was ready to use Swift at level 10, merely two levels after he technically relearned it, because of his choices. If he had, say, picked the shield and gave up the rod, not only would he have been reenacting one of my favorite parts of KHI—using a shield like a sword, _honestly_, Sora? XD—he would have learned Swift a bit later, perhaps after a different move. If he grabbed the rod and chucked the sword, he would have learned it later, too. But choosing the sword and ditching the shield would have given it to him a little earlier. He'll be relearning Disable somewhat soonish now that I think I know how it might work without being too cheap (I gotta remember that he can't use it repeatedly like in the games with my rules).

Yeah, I held onto Brock. I needed to have two people who remembered Mewtwo, especially for that one scene.

Yes. Ash is _still_ 10. Even though canonically over a year has passed in the anime just from how many episodes (aka, at least one day every other one since most end at a sunset or something) have passed. Word of God it's a case of Not Allowed to Grow Up. I'm trying to make this as canon as possible-it's just my style. Deal with it. (Though I am so sorely tempted to magically make him older at least for a little while, because a _10-year-old_ handling a bunch of _Heartless?_ Oy...C'mon, guys, let the kid at LEAST have his 11th birthday, already!)

Be sure to check out the FerreTrip Wiki (God I'm so conceited) to re-read the chapter in walkthrough form for some insight onto what parts are "game" and what's cutscene, as well as some details on how said "game" works, such as the above-mentioned weapons choices' affects!...That is, when it's ready. Check back to each chapter to see if I've finished its walkthrough.

Tell me in comments if you want me to put up a list of changes made to this chapter from the old version! And tell me if you know what Heartless I half-used in Maru's Dive!

Oh, and DO do this now: Go to my deviantART account (FerreTrip) and look for Wandereason. I couldn't really do justice in describing it in the chapter.

And, yes, I _will _be explaining why the Ouendan couldn't come and easily save the day with a good cheer. Just didn't think interrupting the chapter like that would work that well with the feel of it. I was thinking of putting it during the time where Ash is telling Maru about his journey, but I'm not so sure. I'll split the chapter if I think it'll work alright.

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

**FerreTrip: ***sitting at library, listening to Passion Archive via YouTube, recording it onto his recorder gizmo*_We'rrrre connnneeeeecteeed...~_

**FT: ***sitting at library, going through French notes for coming semester, listening to recording of Passion Archive* _chaaaiiiin reeeeaaaaction...~_

**FT: ***showering, Passion Archive in head*_Weeeee liiiiive iiiiin eeeee...~_

**FT: ***sitting at home, working on this very page, listening to game rip of Passion Archive*_...terrrrrnalllll _**_uuuuuuniiiiii...~_**

**FT: ***lying in bed, Passion Archive in head*** _...verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrse!~ _**n_n

**FT: ***lying in bed awake at least an hour later, close to crying by now...*WHY WON'T YOU GET OUT OF MY HEAAAAAD?~ T_T

(TOTALLY not based on something that happened last Monday. Totally. *cough*)


	4. M02: Garden Path of Radiance

a bit

"So it's finally begun, huh?"

Standing on a metal-tiled, stone-railed balcony overlooking a very muted green field going up in a bowl, a figure in a tentacruel-masked mantle turned as another walked over. "Huh? ...Oh." The first turned back to looking at the view, the second reaching its side. "Yeah, guess so."

"You think we're really going to...you know...?"

A pause. The wind blew gently at their mantles. "...Who knows."

"Yeah..."

Another pause.

"...A faded valley."

"It's kinda pretty, but depressing, yeah?"

A mirthless chuckle. "What _isn't _depressing these days?"

"Me?"

The first turned to look at the second, then chuckled again. "Who knows."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Interlude<strong>_

"Uuhhhnnnn..."

"_I...I can still feel the power of darkness flowing through my veins..."_

"Wh...what is...happening...?"

"_I used to be someone, but..."_

"I feel so...strange..."

"_Will I still be..."_

"My head..."

"_How could you feel safe around me?..."_

"My _body_..."

"_I am a conundrum..."_

"Is...this a bed I am on...?"

"_Is this supposed to be natural...or should it bother me?..."_

"Am I...I am still...human...?"

_"We tried to create the world's strongest pokémon...and we succeeded." **BLAABOOOOOOM.**_

"...! _Pikachu!"_

Mewtwo bolted upright, eyes flying wide open. He was in a room, and was indeed lying on a bed. He was still in human form, as Maru, and was still wearing clothes, although they were quite beat up from...something. He looked around. Bedside table with a lamp. Chippendale on the right wall. A door directly across from him. A clock chiming 10:00. A window above the headboard showing a beautiful morning sky and an industrious town below, a huge building off in the distance. Not much else, though. Maru flipped the covers off and swung out of bed onto the floor. He felt re-energized, having taken a much-needed rest.

He looked at his right hand. "That key...where is it?" he whispered. He wanted a closer look at it. He searched the room, and his pockets (it _was_ a _strange _key; maybe it shrank?), but found nothing save a bit of lint from his pockets and dust bunnies under the bed. He groaned. 'I wish I could just teleport it into my hand,' he thought. He even tried to do so, thinking, 'Well, I have gained a few levels; maybe I can...'

_KSSHH!_ Bursting into existence in his hand in a thousand points of light, the key obtained last night(?) was in as good a shape as ever. Maru looked in wonder at it, examining it. Now in proper lighting, it appeared to be brighter in color than last night, though still muted. It definitely seemed to be metal, though Maru could not identify what kind from look or scent. (It smelled...familiar. Familiar yet unlike anything he had ever smelled before.) "What _is_ this thing?" he wondered aloud.

The door opened, and a tall young man with long legs and hair came in. "That would be what's called a Keyblade," he answered. Maru turned to him. The man stopped a bit in front of him, crossing his arms. "You must be very special to have something like that," he commented, raising an eyebrow.

Maru did the same. "What exactly is it?" he asked. "A sword of some sort, I know, but...it is filled with strange power," he stated, raising the blade in front of him. "Can it do special attacks on its own?" he queried.

The man tilted his head. "Sort of," he replied. "Interesting form it took—I can see it befits you, which is actually pretty normal. However, if you should get tired of using it as such, you may always simply take a keychain and replace the one on it, see if that makes a difference." He shrugged. "Quite frankly, it's the most interesting weapon I've ever seen, and I only know of...let's see...well, I personally have seen only three people use one, and I've heard that a few more are able to, as well."

Maru nodded, then looked at the weapon. "'Keyblade...'" he muttered slowly, thoughtful. He let the blade disappear, sending it back into a pocket of space. It disappeared in a way similar to how it appeared. He looked up into the man's eyes directly. "Where is this?" he queried.

The man closed his eyes and turned to leave. "A town known as Radiant Garden." He walked to the door and stopped. "Oh, and before you ask...no, it's _not_ in your world." And he left.

Day 7

**Piece 2: Radiant Garden**

Maru stepped to the wall overlooking the huge chasm below. It was a beautiful, yet strange, place. The town was still busy building itself, cranes and scaffolding here and there, but it seemed to be nearing an end of sorts. Some shops were open for business; when Maru had tried to purchase a sandwich with some pokédollars he still had on him, though, they said his money was no good there.

He had met a few interesting individuals, many of whom looked different than what he was used to seeing. That man in the room, in fact, had looked a little different compared to the inhabitants of Unova, or Kanto, or Johto, or anywhere he'd ever been or seen. 'Another world...' He, at first, didn't believe it, but seeing a short little duck wearing spats, a coat, a top hat, and using a cane while speaking in a Scottish accent shattered all doubt that this couldn't possibly be the world where pokémon dwelt.

He sighed and checked himself over. The only thing that he had with him aside from a couple of items in his collar and some of his (now useless) money was that bauble. The cane had transformed into the Keyblade. He learned from a woman who resembled a ninja that each form of the Keyblade had a different name—she had no idea what his was called, though. Maru's shirt and pants had, perhaps after he had lost consciousness, become badly battered, ripped and frayed at parts. His cloak was also looking fairly unhappy, too, even beyond its usual tattered appearance, but remained secure around his neck. 'Perhaps it was from the realm through which I traveled?' he wondered.

Maru sighed again and looked back out to the gorgeous landscape barren of familiar vegetation or anything of the sort. (It almost appeared to be made of crystal.) He had no idea what he should do, or where he should go. He had made a promise, though, and that was to find Pikachu and everyone else. How he would do that, he didn't know. Checking this place top to bottom would be a good start.

"Excuse me, young man?" asked an aged voice behind him right before he went to start his reconnaissance.

Maru suppressed his small ping of annoyance and turned to see a wizened old man. He had a pointed blue hat that was as tall as his white beard was long, and stood in a blue robe, a questioning look on his bespectacled face. "Yes?" the pokémon replied. He wondered if he should keep his standard stern expression, or soften it a little for the elder man.

The man nodded. "Yes, er, are you the one who just arrived with the Keyblade?" he inquired.

Maru nodded. "That is correct," he confirmed. 'Wait...That man said this was a unique weapon...' Maru couldn't help feeling slightly wary. "Why is that anything to you?"

The old guy frowned slightly at this rudeness, however phrased, but spoke calmly still, "I am Merlin, and I believe that, if you wish to find out more about your weapon, it would be wise to accompany me to my house."

"Oh?" Maru blinked, eyebrows raising a little. Learning about the Keyblade? Now _that_ was inviting, indeed! He nodded. "Alright," he agreed, "but do anything intolerable, and I will have to leave, or worse." 'I should _rrreeaaaaaaaaaaally_ stop talking like I am a god; I could quite easily be defeated at my current level. Heck, a fairly well-trained pidgey at level 20 could wipe the floor with me if I were not careful! Well...okay, maybe not a _pidgey_, but...'

The two walked off to the old man's house. Once inside, Mewtwo gawked at the _killer_ computer set up right there in front of him. "Good Lord, you must be rich," he blurted out. Computers—since he had built three, now—interested him. He covered his mouth and blushed at his rudeness.

Merlin chuckled, shaking his head hopelessly. "Oh, that's just something that they put in here, really," he waved it off with his hand. "Cid uses it more than me." He walked over to a bookshelf.

"Cid?" Maru repeated, raising an eyebrow as he closed the door behind him. He was about to take off his shoes before noticing that Merlin hadn't.

"A mechanic of sorts; genius, that man," Merlin explained, taking a journal down from the shelf. He opened it up and flipped a few pages, then found what he was looking for. He came over and showed the open book to Maru. "This is a journal I kept a bit ago; I've moved on to a new book. I sketched out a few different forms and diagrams of the Keyblade."

Maru took it and looked. The first picture (they all were in glorious color, although he saw that the outlines were in ink, and was therefore confounded as to how the colors and such were so realistic) showed the Keyblade in a very basic, yellow-handled and silver-barreled form labeled, "Kingdom Key." By it was a look at its plain keychain, which appeared to be a silhouette of a mouse or rat head. Another showed it again, but golden-barreled and silver-handled. A third was entirely different, blue and bearing a book for a keychain. Underneath was the caption, "Spellbinder."

"That's the Keyblade in the form it took when Sora attached a keychain I gave him," Merlin explained.

"Sora?" Mewtwo asked, glancing at other pictures. One picture of the Keyblade in action showed a young man with a complicated outfit on—including enormous yellow shoes—with brown hair throwing the Keyblade outwards, making it spin sideways. The caption read, "Sora using Strike Raid."

Merlin nodded. "Yes, the one chosen by the Keyblade. There are only two who wield the most important of Keyblades, one wielded by Sora and one by His Majesty, the King...at least for a little while before he put it back or something." He pointed to the silver Keyblade. "That's Sora's Keyblade. The golden one is His Majesty's."

Maru turned the page and saw a white-haired young man with a Keyblade that resembled a bat's wing slashing a black thing that he'd fought before. It read, "Riku fights a Shadow." He gasped, finding that he now could name those wretched things, and looked at Merlin. "What in God's name _is_ that?" he asked, pointing to the Shadow. "I fought those evil things when I was in my world..."

Merlin solemnly nodded. "That, my young friend, is what's called a Heartless," he explained. "They are what happens to someone when they lose their heart." He pointed to the opposite page's picture, this time of one of strange, white and silver things with zippered heads. "That there is a Dusk, a form of Nobody," Merlin said. "When someone who has a particularly powerful heart loses it, the body they had becomes a Nobody, which is similar to a Heartless but very different. For instance, an obvious observation is that Heartless are mostly dark colors—with the exception of the eccentrically odd White Mushrooms, which I have never heard actually take people's hearts; they play with them more. Anyway, the Nobodies are usually white, silver, or other light colors, and are comparatively more durable than Heartless."

Maru furrowed his brow, studying the diagrams. "Are the Nobodies allies?" he asked.

Merlin shook his head vigorously. "Goodness, no," he frowned. "They both are enemies, though they _are_ actually enemies to _each other_; Heartless and Nobodies fight one another given the chance." The old man sighed. "They both caused us a great deal of trouble. If you look at the man in the cloak there on the same page, Axel, you'll be looking at another Nobody."

Maru raised an eyebrow. "But you said—"

"Yes, but there are exceptions," Merlin chuckled, holding a finger. "Some Heartless are human-like, like how some Nobodies are more human-like. I could go on with explaining, but you probably don't want to go through a lecture," he said, sounding slightly disappointed.

Maru's eyes brightened—a rare happening, indeed. "I greatly enjoy learning," he said kindly. An opportunity to learn in detail about these fiends, as well as the Keyblade, was too much to pass up. Besides, what did he have to lose? He shouldn't go off looking for his friend before he knew about the enemy he knew he would probably have to face.

Merlin laughed. "Well, then, I advise you take a seat," he said, waving a hand.

Maru yelped as a chair flew right to him, knocking him into it and causing him to, well, take a seat. He blinked. "Telekinesis?" he asked. "But there was no aura around the chair..."

Merlin laughed again. "Ah, interested in psychic phenomena, I see?" he asked, smiling and pulling up a chair in the same way for himself.

Maru gave him a hard stare. "I was an extremely powerful psychic before...something happened and, as I now assume, the Heartless or Nobodies stole away all of my powers," he replied darkly. "I am still very unhappy about it, although I am slowly regaining them." And he stopped there. "Anyway, what did you do to bring the chair over?" he asked, eyes filling with wonder again.

Merlin took no notice at the story, or at least didn't appear to. "Magic," he said simply. He smirked when Maru scoffed. "And that is the exact same power you undoubtedly have felt from within the Keyblade."

Maru raised his eyebrows. He summoned it and looked at it. "I _wondered _what it was," he muttered, "and while I do not _c__ompletely_ disbelieve in magic, I am still skeptical about it. See, I come from a world where a little fish can fire a high-force stream of water out of its mouth for long periods of time, even though it obviously did not swallow that much. It is a move called Water Gun." He smirked wryly. "It is considered normal where I am from, whereas I am certain it would be magic elsewhere. You can understand my skepticism, now."

Merlin nodded understandingly. "Well, I'll get to magic in a bit," he said. "But now, I suppose you want to know more about the Heartless and Nobodies, as well as the Keyblade?"

Maru nodded, and sat through a long lecture about some basic points about the Heartless and Nobodies, as well as just about everything known about the Keyblades; attacks, spells, special abilities granted to the wielder, the ability to lock worlds' Keyholes, being a Heartless beacon, etc. He was also told, in basics and short, about the tales of Sora and The King, as they related to the two topics, as did Organization XIII, whom Merlin told him about as well. After an hour or so, Maru sat back, digesting this information. He had a very good memory for things such as this. "Fascinating," he mumbled. 'Very...I wonder if it was Organiza-wait, no, they were disbanded, and that man wore a different outfit. But...Hmmm...No, I think it may have been someone else. It must have. But why take my powers separately from my heart?'

Merlin magicked over a cup of tea and took a sip. "Want some?" he offered.

Maru politely declined. "Although, a submarine sandwich or a Caesar salad would be nice," he added after a thought. He was very hungry, but he knew just how much he needed to eat. He thanked his creators for creating such an efficient body for him.

Merlin chuckled. "I'm afraid you'll have to go elsewhere for that," he said, "and even then, you'll have to have some munny."

Maru raised an eyebrow. "I have money, but it is useless. I have no clue what currency is accepted here."

The wizard laughed. "Munny!" he supplied.

Maru cocked a head, confused and slightly annoyed. "Umm...come again?"

Merlin set his tea down, chuckling. He brought out a small bauble, about as big as a marble. "This is the currency, munny. M-u-n-n-y," he spelled. Maru froze as the bauble was produced from the man's robe. After a few seconds of staring at it, he slowly brought out his own bauble, about as big as a pokéball. Merlin widened his eyes. "Liar! You said you were bare, but you look to be loaded!" he exclaimed good-naturedly.

Maru blinked at the munny orb, holding it up to his face. "I got this well before I even got my powers stolen from me," he described, "from a short old woman in a pricey red dress. She _did _look quite different, now that I think of it," he added to himself. He brought the munny closer to the wizard. "How much is this worth?" he asked.

Merlin examined it. "Hmmmmm...I'd say a good 1,500 munny," he appraised. He looked around, then got up and grabbed a pouch from a shelf. He gave it to Maru. "I'd keep it in here, were I you," he said, and gave the pouch to him. "It's enchanted to shrink it to a relative size compared to its worth, and can hold precisely 999,999 munny...Don't ask me why it's not a million, I didn't enchant it," he shrugged when Maru twitched an eyebrow at the maximum. "Also, it will attract any nearby loose munny and draw them inside without you worrying to pick them up." (On that note, he explained before that the magic of the Keyblade allowed his body to similarly draw in any of the orbs known as "HP prizes" that Heartless and Nobodies drop upon defeat, as in the dream. As for that, Merlin said he had heard tell of such dreams, but knew not their significance quite yet...with a twinkle in his eye.)

Maru took the pouch and placed the munny within, watching it shrink as it fell inside. He put the pouch into his back pocket, which he frowned at. "You know, I plan on going on a journey, somewhat like what Sora did," he said, looking still at the old jeans. "I do not think I am in acceptable garb, though, as my outfit is, for some reason, quite beat up. Do you know of a good clothing shop?" he asked.

Merlin chuckled. "Why, yes, actually, I do," he said. "And it's completely free."

*****OBTAINED Munny Pouch*****

_Holds your munny and attracts any loose change. Can hold 999,999 munny._

Merlin opened the door and held it for Maru. "I'll wait out here. You've been expected for quite some time, you know," he said, smiling.

Maru raised an eyebrow, but made no comment and entered. He had been taken inside a castle, it appeared, to a large oaken door. Inside, after the door closed, he had taken in a sizable room with mirrors and wardrobes here and there. Nobody was around. "Hello?" he called, stepping to the center of the room.

"Oh! Dear, what have we here?" an old voice chirped, and a short, stout woman with fairy wings flew in from behind a wardrobe. She was dressed remarkably similar to the woman Maru had rescued from the clothes thieves, but this one wore green.

Another fluttered over, in blue. "Why, Fauna, it's that handsome young man we've been waiting for," she answered.

Maru blinked, still needing to get used to the _thoroughly_ unexpected. "Er..." he mumbled, sweat-dropping a little.

"You spend any of it yet?" asked a familiar voice cheerfully. Maru looked as a third fairy flew in.

He gasped and pointed. _"You!"_ he shouted. "The woman I saved! You're not even from my world, so what were _you_ doing there?" he asked. He had let that contraction slip, but couldn't do a thing about it now.

The red-wearing woman giggled that same giggle all those days ago. "We had found that someone in your world was likely to get a Keyblade sometime soon," she detailed, smiling sweetly. "So, I just went and looked around a bit. I knew it was you as soon as you went around with those fancy moves and beat those thugs so soundly!" She punched the air in emphasis. Maru raised an eyebrow suspiciously and the woman shook her hands and head. "Honestly, _that_ little spot of trouble was _completely_ unplanned! I had _no_ idea that would happen!"

Maru smirked and chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, regardless, no, I have not spent it yet," he finally answered. "But if need be, I will use it to pay for a new outfit."

Fauna giggled. "It's free, for you, at least," she said.

The blue one sighed, though. "There's a slight problem, though," she frowned, putting a finger on her chubby cheek.

Maru, were he in his pokémon form, drooped his ears. "What sort of problem?" he queried.

The blue one motioned to the red-clothed woman. "Ask Flora."

Flora smiled and said, "Thank you, Merryweather," and then gave a sorry expression to Maru. "You see, my wand is being borrowed by a student of Court Magician Donald's, and I still haven't gotten it back. We can open the gate to the world that he lives in, but the odd problem is, for some extremely strange reason, only those whose favorite colors include purple, violet, or pink are allowed to enter. That, or Donald." She motioned to the other fairies. "As you can see, purple is _not_ our color."

Maru raised an eyebrow, the restriction striking him as odd. "Well, that problem can easily be fixed," he smirked, reaching up and fingering his rat tail a bit. "_My _favorite color is purple."

Flora clasped her hands, gasping in joy. "Oh, honestly?" she asked. Maru nodded. She turned to the others. "Oh, girls, this means I'll get my wand back! Er, that is," she added, looking over her shoulder, "if you don't mind getting it for me?"

Maru smiled and shook his head. "I don't mind it at all," he said. "If I have to beat whoever has it senseless to get it, I will. I-I'd prefer not to, of course," he hastily added, himself. 'More contractions...I'm starting to slip...EEP!' (For some reason, Mewtwo was very resistant to contractions. As to why, your guess is as good as anyone else's, but I favor the "he's serious" and "he's new to the world" theories. He was finding it more and more difficult to fight them as he spent more and more time speaking vocally, however.)

Flora nodded, smiling, and turned to the girls again. "Okay, then, would you two please...?"

Fauna and Merryweather nodded, smiling, and pointed their wands at a point in space in front of Maru. A portal appeared, with an absolutely _insane_ world showing through. As Maru paled at such a mad universe—'What is this, an acid trip?'—Fauna sheepishly added, "We forgot to mention that he lives in a world of imagination. Please be careful, as things may not work quite the way you expect them to."

Merryweather nodded. "He's also very playful, and, while within his home, can basically do anything he wants," she warned. She flew in close and whispered, "Personally, I think he's a bit annoying, so beware. The worst part is he's kind of sensitive, so you can't be _too_ obvious that you want him to leave you alone."

Maru shuddered. What was he getting into? He nodded, though, face resolute. "Well, I'm off," he announced. He groaned under his breath at his fourth slip-up. "I have the Keyblade and my skills, so I will be just fine."

Flora waved, as did the others. "See you soon, and good luck!" she bade.

Maru gulped as he stepped into the portal. "Thanks." 'I just may need it,' he thought as he fully stepped inside the portal, seeing as he flew straight up as soon as he was inside.

**~Freed Creativity~**

Seeing a ceiling to the room above him, Maru made no scream as he sailed upwards. He landed softly, as expected, and began walking. The ceiling was porous and squishy, like a sponge. He knelt and examined it, confirming it to be inorganic after a few moments. He looked around the room.

It was _crazy_. Swirled parts, distorted tables, and bits and pieces of incongruous, complete sanity, like perfectly normal chairs around said tables, a few quaint floor lamps, and a flat floor. It was like being in a fun house that even children might find hard to bear, with moving, crazy colors, swirls all over, and uneven structure. (Thankfully, most of the colors were dark enough that his eyes didn't hurt, but it _still_ felt like an acid trip.) Some objects, totally random, floated about. Odd smells came to his nostrils, and different footstep sounds erupted each step he took (some even being sounds no feet should make). He tried to jump, and ended up rocketing to the floor. He grunted as he slammed into it, then got up onto it, gravity settling again. He decided to look for the guy. Nobody was around in the room.

The many doors were all locked, and some shocked him mildly (non-lethally, though). He decided to go through a hole that eventually appeared in the wall up above. 'Hey, if I get stuck, I bet they will send someone in to get me...if they _can_...' He jumped up again to try and reach it, finding that there was at least _one _rule in this world of chaos: Jumping switched gravity. He flipped before hitting the ceiling and jogged through.

Rooms went by, a maze of craziness, and he had to use his gravity-switching ability to navigate, sometimes wishing he could simply jump up and climb some obstacles. Sometimes, he even fell into a bottomless pit of a sort that wound up leading him back to the start of the room. All the time, he _refused_ to accept that he was actually having a bit of fun. He began feeling a little lonely after fifteen minutes of wandering. Not to mention lost. He looked around the circular room he was in now. An idea struck him. "Hey, um...guy who lives here!" he called out. "If you are here and can really do so many things within this realm, come out and show yourself!"

He waited. No response.

"...Huh." He shrugged. "Worth a shot." He turned and promptly fell flat on his ass after releasing a yelp of surprise. Standing before him was a perfect image of himself as he was right now, and he had no clue how it got there. He didn't sense a thing! "Don't _do_ that!" he shouted after he caught his breath, glaring at the doppelganger.

The other him giggled—GIGGLED!—in a high-pitched, unfittingly wacky-sounding voice. "Well, _you're_ a fun one, ain'cha?" he asked, and, with a cartoonish _POOF!_ (yes, complete with onomatopoeia and cloud of smoke), the copy disappeared. Maru got up to his feet and looked around wildly. From the room itself, the already-annoying voice spoke. "Tell me, what's your favorite color?" it asked.

Maru looked uneasily around. The room had all become dark, but he could see himself just fine. "Purple," he replied. "What do you plan to do now?" he asked.

"Ooohhhhhhhhh, nothing," lied the voice. The floor slowly faded into a flat, hard, purple thing. Maru looked down, then slowly forward. Before him a ways away were two lumps he recognized from looking at charizard pictures and specimens as nostrils. He spun around and, while he started, he didn't fall flat on his ass again, since he'd expected staring into two big eyes. Big, cartoony eyes, though, ones filled with delight, friendliness, and, moreover, more mischief than a haunter, he hadn't completely.

"Who are you?" Maru demanded warily. He held his hand out, ready to summon the Keyblade if things got hairy. Figuratively.

The creature giggled, and Maru felt the 'ground' rumble. "My name's Figment!" the thing replied. "And it's nice to meet you, Mr. Serious-Pants!"

Maru felt a breeze at his legs, then looked down. His jeans were replaced with a pair of plain pants emblazoned with "SERIOUS" all over it. They didn't look that bad; teens might like them. Regardless, these were _his_ pants that were changed. He looked up again, narrowing his eyes into the menacing triangles that he still is able to make them into. (One of his favorite pastimes is scaring the shit out of people by Glaring at them like that, using his "lethal look".) "Change them back," he growled darkly in his angry-Mewtwo voice.

But Figment just laughed, raising an eyeridge. Maru noticed that he was bald save for two striped yellow horns sticking up from his head. "Oooooooh, scary face!" he commented.

"Precisely."

Figment chuckled. "I can make a scary face, too!" he said, and then disappeared. Maru was still standing, but now looking all around. Suddenly, he looked one way and froze completely solid, his belief that he was fearless throwing itself headfirst out the window.

A face stared right back at him, one with such menace and hatred and malevolence that it was enough to make the strongest man whither. But add onto that the appearance of being carved from rotting meat and bone (complete with maggots), and Maru just stood there, unable to run but unable to stay, transfixed in horror and disgust at this sight. It smelled horribly rank, too. And the growl it emitted sent shudders down his spine. If there was one thing Mewtwo just plain didn't like, it was zombies; being a Psychic type may have had something to do with that. (As such, he protested the relatively recent huge rise of the things in popular culture.)

And then, _snap!_ There hovering before him was a short, pear-shaped, cartoonish, purple dragon. Not Mewtwo purple, but a light purple, sorta pinkish—more along the lines of Parma Violet for Prismacolor users. He had a yellow-banded underside, teeny-tiny wings that, of course, supported him in flight, and surprisingly scraggly legs and arms for a dragon, who mostly have well-built, thick legs (arms being another thing, as charizard points out). His tail wasn't tipped in a triangle, but had a forked point, with two blunt spikes forking out like a Y and banded, like his horns. He had a happy, kind, carefree expression, eyelids drooped slightly in a calm, friendly way. This guy had just gone from the scariest thing Mewtwo had ever seen to something even less intimidating than Pikachu. Snapping out of it, Maru shook his head and growled at Figment. "_Please_ do not do that again!" he asked, more like ordered. "And tell _no-one_ of my reaction to it," he added, turning red in embarrassment.

Figment giggled and flew over as smooth as silk. He was about 3 inches taller than a pikachu when it stood, discounting the tail. "_O-kay_, you little wimp," he teased, and laughed as Maru, who had _had_ it, tried grabbing the little whelp. He dodged as if it were nothing, of course. Then, after trying to be grabbed about four times in a row, he barked, in a New York accent, "Yo, paws off the moichendice!" With a click of his claws, a pair of handcuffs surrounded Maru's hands. His arms also snapped to his body and were bound tight. "Sorry," Figment shook his head, eyeridge raised, "but honestly, what's _up_ with you? I think you need to really chill. I mean, really—" And here, his face suddenly wore the same make-up as The Joker, and he smirked slyly. "—why so serious?"

'This guy reminds me of Mew,' thought Maru, 'but a thousand times more annoying...' When Mewtwo was living alone, he sometimes would be visited by the carefree mew, the same one he battled at New Island. And drew against, as much as he hated to admit it. (He would never admit that Mew's better than him, despite the fact the little gal can learn any TM or HM move; that alone didn't govern how good she was.) The little thing was as carefree as a soap bubble, and often tried playing games with Mewtwo when they weren't just talking. Rarely were they good enough that he consented; the only reason he didn't totally want Mew gone (or so he told himself) was because the two competed fiercely when they did race one another around the city. It always caused people to look up in wonder as a bright blue and pink streak shot across the sky, followed briefly afterward by a loud boom.

Mew was annoying and snarky in the pestering little smart-alec kid way Figment was, but the latter might even bug the former. And yet, to his horror, the pokémon found he was starting to actually, deep deep _deeeeeeeeep_ down inside, _like_ him, in a way. Maybe it was the mew inside him. Who knew? Maybe Mewtwo could become as playful as his pink counterpart one day. (This author and the character in question seriously doubt this, though.) "And how do you propose I do that?" Maru sighed exasperatedly, slouching.

Figment chortled, the face paint vanishing. "Well, start off by lightening up a little!" he answered. He summoned a scholar's costume to him, minus the pants. "Ya need to stop using so many fancy-shmansy words and talkin' like you're too cool for 'I'm' and 'he's' and stuff. You sound like some dorky professor!" He laughed as he walked in midair, pulling out a pointer and pointing to a blackboard, acting like a teacher. "And here, you can plainly see, in Figure 1., the Blargus jilsius..."

Maru anger-veined (as if he wasn't already). "I am _not_ like that!" he retorted.

Figment smirked. "And I've seen you walking through my house." His costume disappeared, and another one came, this time one that made him look like Cloud, Advent Children style. "You think you're some kinda big shot bad boy? C'mon, nobody likes those kinds of people walkin' an' talkin' like that! It makes you look like a total poser!" (However, for respect of the almighty Cloud Strife, he shed the costume with no acting whatsoever.)

Maru sighed and took some deep breaths, trying to quell his mind from firing up his psychic powers when they needed a relative break. "Look. I'll be who I want to be." _'And there I go with the damn contractions!_ That just killed the argument...'

Figment let out a triumphant single _"HA!"_ at the contraction. He grinned and leaned on something in midair, like a mime. "Well, whatever. But you look _waaayy_ too serious, y'know?"

Maru scoffed. "I have been told that so many times before, it is not even funny," he rolled his eyes. He turned them back onto Figment. "I actually am used to someone like you, but I shall be blunt: You are _far_ more annoying, sorry to say."

Figment chuckled. "Well, a lot of people find me annoying," he shrugged, and pulled down a list like a teacher would a map rolled up in its container atop the board. On the top, it read, "BLACKLIST." "_WhooOOPS!"_ Figment let go and the list flipped out of existence. He gave a nervous smile to that. "How'd _that _get there?"

Maru gave a single chuckle. "I see not even the most carefree are grudge-free," he .

Figment laughed. "I really can't hold a grudge," he said, and one of the freaky kids from the movies fell into his arms. It croaked, slid right out and fell down out of sight. "See?"

Maru jerked his head down as if slapping his forehead. "Ooooogghhh... That was _baaaaaad..._" 'It was actually kind of clever,' he admitted in the back of his mind. 'He uses his godlike powers fairly well.'

Figment grinned. "That's a great sign! You're starting to become more like a normal human being!" he said gleefully.

At this, Maru's smile, which had grown slowly, faded right off his face. Still looking away, he said quietly, "You have no idea how much that hurts me, and how wrong you are, indeed." He raised his head and gave a dark, somewhat mournful look to the little creature.

Figment took a breath as he stared into those eyes. Sensitive when it came to reading emotions, he could tell, definitely, that this guy was being completely sincere with that gaze. He saw the hurt and loss in those eyes. Now, like all people who say the wrong thing unintentionally, he felt bad. He drooped his head and held his tail submissively. "I'm sorry. I didn't know," he apologized softly.

Maru closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "No, _I_ am the one who should be sorry," he replied in a calmer voice. "And you are right, you had no idea about...my...state," he decided to end.

Figment shyly twisted his tail a little in his paws, then looked like he was about to ask, but decided not to. He did a similar thing to what Maru had just done, sighing and bowing his head, eyes closed, to get back on track. Raising his head with his smile again, which Maru found that he preferred to be there instead of a frown, and snapped his fingers. Maru's bonds vanished. He asked instead, "So, then, what's your name?"

Maru finally gave a small bow. "Maru. That is all."

Figment raised both eyebrows. "'Maru?' You're Japanese, huh?" he asked. Maru nodded his head. (The greater country Kanto, Jhoto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh came from was called Japan, though nobody bothered to talk about country when each region was so vastly different from each other.) Figment thought a second, putting a paw to his chin and making the standard "Hmmm". After a time, he looked up and snapped his claws. "Your name means 'valuable,' right?" he asked. "Well, I know that's what it means when used with some other names...you know, like 'Orochimaru' and 'Ebisumaru,' right?"

Maru blinked. He'd never thought of the definition of his name in a sense; he just thought up something that sounded like his real name, Mewtwo. Ironic that his name mean something that Giovanni called him once. He smirked and shrugged, giving a "heh". "Well, true," he nodded simply. "I never really think about my name." 'But how fitting,' he thought. 'I name myself after a word whose definition in this case people usually apply to _property..._'

Figment smiled. "Well, nice to meet you," he said. He held out a paw. Warily, Maru took it, awkwardly since he had to use only a few fingers. No shock or anything, and he could remove it safely, as well. The dragon giggled. "Still don't trust me, eh?" he asked. "Well, how's about this: I let you outta here safe and sound, savvy?" He asked the last part while donning the familiar Capt. Jack Sparrow hat and beard (in this case, fake).

Maru nodded. "Alright," he said, "but I had no desire to come here for fun. I'm looking for somebody," he explained. '...Wait...Oh, I am _this _close to giving up...' "Is there anyone else here besides yourself? And be truthful, now."

Figment laughed. "I wouldn't lie to you!" he replied, as if it were the most _absurd_ thing he'd ever heard of (and that's saying something), but he added, "Well, in the way _you_ mean, I mean." He cleared his throat and stood at-ease, announcing, "No, sir, there is but one person besides me here, and that is yourself." He presented his arm out to Maru as if showing an invisible audience.

The pokémon raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "Well, then, you would not happen to have Flora's wand, now, would you?" he asked, holding out a hand back.

Figment raised his eyeridges. "Oh! _That_ thing! Why didn't you just _say _so? I'm sorry, hang on," he held a finger, and disappeared. He reappeared a moment later carrying an armful of wands of all sorts. He dropped the pile onto the floor of the air he stood on, and started sorting through them, picking up one at a time and chucking it behind him if it wasn't the right one. "Lessee...No, this is to that pink fairy...This is to her really fun husband...Oooh, this is one of those cool immovables, I'm keeping this—" (This one he had in his paw, then he raised it high, hit a button, and let go, the rod suspended in midair) "—what else...This is that British kid's...or is it the other one's?...Wait, this is the other one's, it looks way older...Hoo, I wonder if Tink's replaced this one yet...Whose is this again?"

"That actually looks more like a conductor's baton, actually."

"Yeah, but it's magical, so...Ooh, Merlin'll want this back, too...This belongs to a red faerie, all right, but not the right one...Ah-_hah!"_ he finally crowed in triumph, holding up one wand, another in the other paw. _"Here_ we are! Now, y'want these?" he asked, holding Merlin's wand and Flora's wand to Maru.

He nodded. "Yes," he replied, taking them. "Thank you. And Merlin probably _would_ appreciate his wand being back...By the way, why must you have so many wands?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You obviously have vast power in this universe. Why use these devices to enhance your already-near-infinite power?"

Figment smiled and waggled a claw, snapping with his other paw to poof off the pile. "I'm a practicing magician under Court Wizard Donald Duck, I'll have you know," he answered. "And my mentor's asked me to practice magic so that I'll be able to do stuff outside of my world. Wands are alright, but I prefer cards, really," he commented, producing a pack of cards and shuffling it idly. "They're much better attention-getters and stronger sources of inspiration, what with so many kinds of cards. You've got playing cards, trading cards, and the infamous Tarot cards, which are some of my favorites since there are so many different styles. Not to mention they kinda, well, symbolize what lies within your soul and all."

He held a card up. It was somewhat skinny and had two circles as the top corners and a curve arcing between them, similar to the keychain on Maru's Keyblade. It was red-bordered and had a comic-style hit burst on it behind a sword icon. Figment explained, "These are special cards, though, that I use for fighting, and they contain some of my power of the imagination in them. There are Attack, Item, and Spell cards, and I like these more than a simple wand, since I can throw them and attack from a distance with more than one at a time, not just do one thing at once," he told the interested observer. "Besides, it's cooler, I think!" He held a couple between his claws and threw them like shuriken, but, of course, in that straight-forward fashion that's _got_ to be impossible the way they throw them...

Maru, crossing his arms, nodded and observed thoughtfully. "Interesting, indeed," he commented. "And yes, cards do inspire more unique fantasies than does a wand, usually, since a wand is just a stick, which does have some primal power in and of itself, but otherwise makes you think a bit harder than one would like. A symbol on a card, though, instantly makes you think of something, and the creatively-inclined will almost guaranteedly think of something relating to them that they could create." He gave a respective nod. "For one such as yourself, a being of the imagination, it fits more than wands would. Personally, I find cards make more sense, since they can obviously contain a great deal of power in such a compact device, and some may be used repeatedly. Besides, they are more fun, and make you use more of a strategy."

Figment, surprised that his ramblings were _listened to_ and a bit unnerved by the big words Maru was saying, sweatdropped. "Uhhh...Thanks," he said, raising an eyeridge and putting his cards away, "but, ah, you kinda ranted a bit there, dude."

Maru sweatdropped and blushed a bit. "Sorry, high intelligence does that to you...see?" he apologized, shrugging. He stretched and sighed. "Well, I had better be going before I force a discussion or, worse, a lecture onto you," he said, holding out a hand. "I suppose it turned out well to meet you."

Figment happily shook it. "You too, Mr. Serious-Pants!" he replied, grinning. "I'll change 'em back if you want, by the way."

"They'll be changed anyway." _'Could you please stop that?'_ "And it is 'Maru', please."

Figment snickered. He then motioned for Maru to step back, then transformed into a giant version of himself. He took two great paws and tore open a hole in the air. It was a portal to the first room. "There ya go!" he chirped happily, making the "after you" motion with his paw. "Thank you for flying with Figment Airlines, and we hope to see you again, and that you have a very nice day!"

Maru fought back a laugh at the corny joke. "Farewell," he bade, and walked through to the first room again. The main portal was still open, and so he went back through.

Behind him, Figment put a thoughtful paw to his chin as he closed the hole. "Hmmmmm...I remember the last time those old bags gave someone a new set of clothes, the kid ended up supposedly saving a buncha worlds..." He grinned playfully. "Yannow, as boring as the guy is, he's really somebody else, and having a big imagination's not really as fun as it can be if you can't share it with others...And I'm getting lonely, anyway!" He nodded and put his fist in his palm, smiling decisively. "Awright, it's time for a little _fun_, methinks!" He chuckled evilly, rubbing his paws together as he bustled off to get ready.

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

Great Scott, this chapter's short! I almost wanted to add the next to it, but that'd be way to long—30 pages as it was! So I'm just gonna end it here.

As I've said a lot already, I'm at college now, so updates will be slow. I probably shouldn't even be doing this, Friday night or not, but...well, I kinda started as a time-waster last night before showering, so I kinda wanted to get it over with. :P Don't expect a hell of a lot more; this one was really easy because of how there was basically no action whatsoever in it. I'm still pondering whether or not I should've just let Merlin explain so much to him, but damn, does it make writing a helluva lot easier for me. At least for the Heartless.

Um...I dunno anything else to say since I've been working on the next chapter to see if I can ditch the huge Merlin scene, so I don't remember anything about this one I wanna talk about. As for the scene, I've determined that I could get away with it, I think. I hope. Come on, people, this is a _fanfic._ As much work as I put into it, I still think of it in large part as writing practice. Sorry if that offends anyone, but that's the truth.

*scans over after submitting*...Oh! Bonus points to those who caught the reference to a certain Humble Indie Bundle game in this chapter!

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

***A couple years back, before events of Kingdom Hearts; Freed Creativity. Donald is trying to teach Figment magic.***

**Donald: **Now, which spell to start on...?

**Figment: **Ooh, ooh! I wanna learn Flare! Teach me Flare!

**Donald: **NO! That's too advanced for you, kid! We're gonna start on Blizzard. It fires a blast of ice at an enemy.

**Figment: **Oh, I know that one! *conjures and throws a snowball at Donald*

**Donald: ***face turns red with rage and the snowball melts off* Why, I oughtta...*stamps foot* Th-That's _cheating!_ Now quit fooling around and pay attention!

**Figment: **Awww...Okay.

**Donald: **_Thank _you. *lifts up rod* Okay, now, you just focus your energy into your rod, and—

**Figment: ***snorts, then bursts out laughing*

**Donald: ***stands there confused for a moment* Huh? Why—*realizes what he just said and starts fuming, steam coming from his ears*—you..._little..._*explodes into a classic Donald fit, chasing Figment*

**Figment:** *mid-flight, whips out a checklist, smirking* Set off Donald Duck within thirty seconds—check. But that was the _easy _one...*also on the list are "Set off Donald Duck within fifteen seconds", "Set off Donald Duck within ten seconds", and "Set off Donald Duck within five seconds".*


	5. M02: It's Mr Serious Pants!

**~Radiant Garden~**

Maru jumped out of the portal with wands in hand. Merlin was in the room now, and he saw his old wand and went over to retrieve it. Flora did the same. Merryweather and Fauna sighed in relief. "We thought you'd been driven mad by the little troublemaker!" cried Merryweather.

Maru smirked. "He had a bit of fun with me, but I think my little bore-to-death act got him off me when he finally gave me a chance to do so," he replied. "He actually _is_ sort of cute, and reminds me of someone I knew..."

"Well, dear," Flora said, testing her wand by producing a shower of sparks with a flick, "I think it's time to get things over with now before anything else happens."

Suddenly, Leon (the one who Maru met first here in Radiant Garden) burst into the chamber. "Merlin!" he yelled. The old wizard turned. "We've got trouble! Heartless attack!"

Merlin gasped. _"What?"_ he cried in shock and disbelief. "Why on Earth—or wherever we are—?"

The three fairies sighed. Merryweather groaned, Flora put her face in her hands, and Fauna put her hands to her hips and said stern-faced to Flora, "You just _had_ to say something, didn't you?"

Maru looked down at his "SERIOUS" pants and groaned. "_Greeaaaat_...I am going to have to fight like _this?"_ He sighed in aggravation.

Leon flashed his eyes to him. "If you really want to fight, then be my guest," he said reluctantly. "But you don't look like you're quite up to it. You don't know how to use the Keyblade very well yet."

Merlin cleared his throat. "If I may?" he asked, holding up a finger. "Now, you remember when Sora came here to get _his _new clothes? He had to fight, too, and he was probably little better than Maru right at this moment, given the circumstances. Besides, _look_ at the poor child," he added, motioning to the anxious-looking pokémon, "he's just _begging_ for a fight!"

Maru nodded and smirked. "If there is ever a chance to fight, I will take it," he stated. "It's in my very genetic code." 'No kidding...ARGH! Okay, I give up,_ I give up!_'

Leon nodded. "But there are thousands of them, and not even twenty of us," he argued. "You will need to fight in a group, unless you want to throw away whatever duty your Keyblade-bearer status gives you."

Maru narrowed his eyes. "I will _not_ die," he assured with his commanding tone of voice. And before anyone could argue further with him, he charged out of the room. Leon and the others looked at him as he ran, then at each other.

"He'll be fine, dear," Merryweather said grandmotherly. "He's got quite a fighter's spirit."

Leon nodded. "I can see that. But having the spirit and having the ability are two different things. I doubt he'll survive alone." He then turned and ran off to fight for himself.

"He looks quite strong," commented Fauna.

"Though he didn't have to run off without at _least _letting us cast that charm like we were going to..." Flora groaned.

It took a moment for anyone to notice a portal opening up...

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(- **

_**"Diiieee!"**_

Maru's bloodthirsty yells filled the deserted town as he charged off to meet the filthy beasts in the streets. His Keyblade slashed through one after the other enemy, and he noticed he was fighting more now instead of just Shadows. But he was fighting, and when Mewtwo fights, he fights fiercely. Especially when he has a vendetta against these beasts who devoured the only friends he'd ever really known. He was certain they'd gotten Mew, as well, but he didn't want to find out, either.

_"Maru!"_ Leon shouted after him. "They're advancing up the gate, we can leave the city's defense system to these few who have made it up to the streets." He hurried past, enormous Gunblade obliterating any Heartless ahead of him with edge and bullet.

Maru nodded and raced on. He just dodge-dashed past anything trying to stop him. But when he saw the swarm after getting in view of the huge canyon, he stopped. A solid, squirming mass of black crept closer and closer. He dropped his jaw and nearly his weapon. Then he got hit in behind and snapped back into reality. He spun to hit the Heartless, but found a girl with a headband on instead. "Come ON, Mr. Serious-Pants!" she beckoned, and he followed after her.

After a while, Maru finally got to the bailey. By now, his adrenaline was on full blast. He was half-snarling, half-grinning at the multitude of creatures to destroy. This was a thrill he'd never had before, or one he was starting to feel...He didn't know what, yet, though. He was stopped by a bunch of Large Bodies, and so he had to deal with them while other, stronger fighters, from Final Fantasy games, raced past and ignored what they thought he could handle. So by the time Maru realized that the way out was blocked, as was the way in, by that same kind of barrier, he was alone. ALL alone.

Panting, he looked around as the barrier came up over and around him in a dome. "What? _Again?"_ he mumbled, and suddenly, several Heartless appeared around him. Three Large Bodies, ten Shadows, seven Soldiers, and two Darkballs, with a Wyvern thrown in for good measure. He didn't know whether to drop his jaw or put on a maniacal grin. "Finally, an actual _challenge!"_ he gleefully shouted through gritted teeth. And he was off, again forgetting he wasn't the strongest pokémon ever created anymore.

He hopped onto the back of a Large Body, locked on with his legs, and did his now-familiar barrage of slashes to the head. However, three slashes, and a Darkball slammed him right off. In the air, the Wyvern then paraded kicks down on him. As he finally fell down, a Soldier spin-kicked him right into a Shadow's weak, but salt-in-the-wounds sliding kick. Maru tumbled and rolled after this lethal combo, very much in pain. A _lot _of pain. He tried to get up and shouted in agony. _"DAMN THIS WEAK HUMAN BODY!"_ he roared in rage. He shakily got up, trying to ignore the pain all over his body—the most of it being from the kicks of the incredibly strong-legged Wyvern—and readied his Keyblade. "I'm going to have to...try harder..." he groaned. But he knew that, unless he healed up, he was as good as dead. However, he could feel the magic of the Keyblade affecting him, strengthening his defense a bit. 'Wait...Merlin said something about how some Keyblades have Abilities...This one's must enhance defense in a pinch...which I'm most certainly in, hate to say...'

The foes came towards him. The aerial Heartless swooped menacingly, the Large Bodies lumbered along, the Soldiers did their silly little skip, and the Shadows cheaply swam along the ground. Face dripping with sweat, Maru wondered feverishly, 'Is this the _end_ of me? Is this..._really_ going to happen? No! This...this _cannot_ be! I can _do_ this!' _"I CAN DO THIS!"_ he repeated aloud, and tried to move. One step, and he felt more tired pain. In game terms, this is the "1 HP left" state. In horror, he looked up into the face of a Shadow just getting up in front of him.

"Obviously, you can't!" a familiar voice mockingly observed. Before the Heartless could attack, a card soared headlong into it and burst in a small explosion of power. More of them came, hitting each one in turn. Maru turned and saw, remarkably, he _wasn't_ alone.

Somehow breaking through the barrier (which had reclosed behind him), _Figment_, of all people, was now flying up beside the bewildered poké. He wore a yellow zip-up long sleeve shirt, intricate with all its extra zippers, pockets, and other little cloth or metal gadgets. 'How interesting,' Maru thought of the outfit. Also on the dragon was a belt with a case that held the same deck of cards as before, slung around what must have been the waist (it's always hard to tell on pear-shapes). The most interesting thing that he wore, though, was the expression on his face. Figment now had a feisty, excited, and wild look on his face. "You can't have fun alone, you know," he admonished Maru, landing. He drew a card from his deck, a blue one with a picture of a leaf on it. He raised it. _"Maru!" _he called. The card disappeared in his paw.

Maru tilted his head quizzically, but then a ring of green leaves appeared around his head, and he felt as if he'd been given a somewhat-stronger potion. He looked and saw many of his wounds were healed. He looked in wonder at Figment. "Did...you heal me?" he asked.

Figment grinned and drew a hand of cards, most of which were red. "Yep!" he affirmed. "Now, I think those Heartless have had enough with waiting," he commented, and got ready, bouncing energetically on the ground with his hand held back. "Now, please, don't be such a moron, eh?" he asked.

Maru narrowed his eyes at him. "Oh, shut up!" he said shortly, and turned to face the new foes. 'I suppose I _have_ to fight with him...We'll see...'

The Large Bodies came at him, and one crouched. With a dash, Maru dodged, and Figment flapped his small wings, which didn't seem to work as well in reality, and jumped to evade. _"HOTFOOT!"_ he shouted, and chucked a blue card with a flame icon on it. It became a fireball and struck the beast. It didn't work as well as expected, but it gave Maru the time to attack it from behind. He comboed it, then ran after and leapt on to give it a good Slashfest. He defeated it and fell to the ground as it disappeared. (The larger Heartless were actually quite low on HP for such powerful ones.)

Next, Figment chucked three red cards, one after the other, at one of the Darkballs. The Wyvern was coming at him from behind, though. Maru gritted his teeth and began running to him, but had an idea after seeing the situation. In a flash, he jumped on one Large Body, to the other, and finally got right onto the Wyvern. The dragonlike Heartless, unable to do anything except kick and do flying maneuvers, squirmed as the vengeful pokémon used a riding slash (not Slashfest, just attacks while he held on) to fight the huge-legged beast. It was cheap, but it was highly effective. Many times, he had to just hold on while the monster did stylish moves to throw its rider off, and also bat away a Darkball that occasionally escaped Figment's barrage. Below, he'd sometimes hear the little guy shout, _"SNOWFLAKE!" "HOTFOOT!"_ and, during one attack that looked like Thunder, _"STATIC!"_ The snowflake was actually that, a big snowflake. Other times, he'd hear some other things for the same attacks, which he assumed were the real things: "Blizzard," "Fire," and, well, "Thunder," respectively.

After a full thirty seconds of riding, he finally killed the thing. He fell, right into a Darkball's erratic bouncing about. He grunted as he landed on his feet, and had to focus on a Soldier in front of him. Figment had been working on air enemies, it seemed, but Maru had wanted to eliminate the most dangerous one, the Wyvern, before he could clear the ground. He evaded the spin kick and Round Blitzed, himself, and went on attacking. Meanwhile, Figment, who was out of MP by then, was now just attacking with attack cards. Sometimes, he'd let out just the worst little cry of pain when he got hit, but he was good at dodging, being so small.

Halfway through the fight, Maru and Figment stopped, panting, in the center of the postern. Maru was panting, but smiling at the good fight. Although they were back-to-back, he suspected Figment, because he was just a troublemaker by nature, was smiling a bit, too. "You are actually pretty good," he commented to the dragon.

Figment chuckled. "Fighting takes imagination, too, y'know," he pointed out. He drew a pair of heal cards. _"HEAL! MARU!"_ he shouted, and the cards disappeared. Both of them got healed by Cure, thanks to Figment's special he described later on as Doublecast, which he figured out how to do on his own. (It even let him cast two Cures when both depleted all of his remaining MP. Helpful when it was too weak to heal multiple people automatically yet.) Then, with renewed vigor, the fight continued.

After two more minutes of fighting, the last Shadow was squashed. The wall of hexagons fell, and Figment jumped and whooped for joy. _"We did it!" _he cheered.

Maru sighed and stood, panting. "Yes," he agreed, "but there's still much left to do. We've got a town to save. And yes, I gave up fighting contractions a bit ago," he added before the dragon could point it out. He assessed his level now. He'd grown to level 12 already! 'Woah, that's good,' he thought. 'Those things WERE hard, though, so it makes sense.' A siren brought him out of his reverie, and he looked out into the vast canyon ahead. "Come on, there's more fighting to do," he said, and ran off. Figment smiled. Maru stopped and turned. "Well, coming?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Figment nodded. "You're takin' fightin' as a team better than I thought," he observed, trotting over.

Maru snorted contemptuously. "I'm only doing this," he explained, "because I can't fight these things alone just yet. Trust me, as soon as I'm able to, I'll be fighting solo." He felt a pang in his chest at this, so he added, "I don't mean to sound cold or anything."

Figment, who had expected that he'd prefer fighting alone as soon as he could, still hadn't expected him to be such a jerk with the "Trust me" statement. 'He's gonna be a tough nut to crack, ain't he?'

*****Figment joined the party!*****

At a circle of rock before the canyon itself—the Crystal Fissure—Leon called out to them. "So, made it this far, huh?" he noticed. He was behind a pillar of beautiful crystal (it appeared the canyon _was _made of crystal, to Maru's amazement), in his badass-crossed-arms-and-bowed-head-eyes-closed position. He looked up now, opening his eyes with a dry look at Maru.

Maru nodded. "Yes," he confirmed, holding a hand down to indicate Figment, who put his paws to his sides and stood proudly, smirking, "albeit with the help of Figment." He raised an eyebrow at the Gunblade-wielder. "You knew I almost got snuffed out of existence by those Heartless, didn't you?" he suspected, none too pleased.

Leon gave a "heh" and smirked. "I fight alone, and if you want to fight so badly, you'll have to be able to face whatever comes your way," he admonished. He pointed to a disc of white and green light a bit aways. "Stand in that circle of light, called a save point or save disc because of how much of a life-saver it is, and all your weariness will cease," he explained. He then pointed to a hologram of a moogle. "This here's the moogle shop. You can use munny dropped by enemies to buy items. And on that note," he added, pausing and rummaging in his pockets, and then tossed four objects, two each, to each of the young ones before him. He gave a straight-line-mouth look at them and said, "I'm feeling charitable. I gave each of you a potion and an ether. They—"

"Potions restore my physical wounds and ethers restore my energy," Maru interrupted him, stowing the two bottles in his cloak's collar (Figment transformed his into cards and put them in his deck). In response to the eyebrow raise and nod the FFVIII warrior gave him, he explained, "They have them in my world. I suspect that the potion doesn't restore much of my wounds compared to a higher-ranking one, just like how super potions heal more wounds than a normal potion in my world?" he asked.

Leon nodded. "Now, hurry up and restore yourselves here, as well as get any healing items that I'm certain you newb—ies, will need," he finished after a pause. He turned and walked off.

Figment and Maru both anger-veined and shouted, _"HEY!"_ simultaneously. Maru shook his fist and retaliated, "I have had as much fighting experience as _you_ have, hu—" He quickly caught himself, and hoped that it just sounded like he'd said "you" and decided not to say anything. He took a breath, lowered his fist, and quietly went to the circle.

*****RECIEVED Potion (x2)*****

_Restores 30% of Max HP._

*****RECIEVED Ether (x2)*****

_Restores all of your MP and 1 use of all Moves._

The circle was just like the spot with the swirling teardrops in his dream, working the same way. His energy, although he was built to have it be extremely hard to deplete, was thankfully restored, and all fatigue left him in the warm, green and white light. Figment felt the same thing when he stepped in it.

Before Maru ran off to battle again, Figment called after him. "Wait, Maru! I've got something, too!" Maru, who was halfway out the fissure, skidded and turned to gasp as a yellow card slammed into him, bursting into light. Sparkles washed over his clothes, and he felt a strange feeling within him...as if something unclicked.

"What...just happened?" Maru asked, looking himself over. "What did you do?"

"Not what _I _did, but what the fairies did," Figment shook his head. He smirked wryly and put a paw on his hip. "See, since you were too much of an eager beaver, they couldn't enchant your clothes the way they wanted to after giving you your makeover. So they asked me to take the spell in card form to you and use it on you when we were safe."

"Ah..." Maru looked himself over. He still looked the same.

"They wanted to be there to change your outfit, but they could still have me give you the spell," Figment chuckled. "They said that it's a spell to unlock the power within you."

"Unlock my power?" Maru jerked his head up. 'Now that I think about it, I feel...slightly more normal, yet not quite...'

Figment nodded and rubbed his chin. "How'd they put it?...The more you fight, the more tension you build up," he began. "When you reach your limit, you can use it to temporarily unlock your power. The stronger you become, the more tension you will be able to hold, and the more powerful you will become when you unlock your power."

"Huh..." Maru digested this information, hand on own chin. "I see. So I fight, charge up this ability, and then use it to unleash my power?" he summarized. "Sounds handy. What's it called?"

"They called it the Break technique," Figment shrugged.

"Break...Nice." Maru nodded. "Alright, I'll gladly put it to use. Let's get going, now."

"Right!" They turned and trotted out of the fissure.

*****RECIEVED Rend Form*****

_Level 1 Break Mode form. Unleashes suppressed psychic power. Stats boosted and fighting style changes slightly. Gain Move Haste Ability (Moves reload faster). Costs 1 Break bar._

Maru stopped right before exiting the area, a sight _just_ registering to him. He turned to a large, ornate chest he had seen earlier. He recalled hearing from Merlin how his Keyblade, which he had by then named "Wandereason" to reflect how insane life had become now, can open any lock. This included chests, which were opened by tapping on them. So, he got in front of the big chest, raised Wandereason, and...stopped. 'Heh...Big chest, big opening. Why not?' he thought to himself, shrugging and smirking.

"Hoh!" He twirled the Keyblade around him once before tossing it up, weapon twirling, and grabbing its grip with telekinesis to flick it down, bit-first, on top the lid, where it bounced off, up, and back. He snatched it with his left hand and transferred it to his right as the lid flew open, its contents floating up in a magic bubble envelope. Maru grabbed the bubble, and it burst, revealing a map. "This might help," he muttered, putting it into a pocket. "Okay, _now_ let's go!" He turned and trotted off.

"Maru? Anyone ever tell you you're a showoff?" Figment asked as he ran alongside him as fast as his small legs could carry him.

"Yeah, and?"

"Juuust checkin'..."

*****OBTAINED Great Maw Map*****

_Map of the Great Maw. The Keyblade icon indicates facing. Red lines indicate doors. Worldwide map part now viewable on the Touch Screen._

The Great Maw! Here, Maru felt the rush he'd been waiting for: A _real_ challenge. But then, he remembered that he had gotten overconfident before, and that had nearly cost him his life thanks to that amazing combination attack dealt against his weak human form. 'I cannot _wait_ until I can wield my true body again,' he kept thinking. Now, as he stood, Figment skidding next to him and gasping for breath, tons of Heartless came to invade the Radiant Garden. Regardless of how weak he still was, Maru smirked his Mewtwo smirk and drew Wandereason again. Figment readied some cards. "You ready?" Maru asked the little guy.

Figment gulped at the hoard of dark creatures before him. "Yeah," he lied.

"Then here we _go!"_ Maru cried, and charged forward into the writhing mass of darkness before him, their fangs dripping and claws unsheathed.

The fight dragged on for what felt like an age. Maru was in the groove, seizing every opportunity to utilize the battlefield in any way he could. He kicked around projectiles, wielded a gigantic sword against its owner, knocked back a few Large Bodies and Fat Bandits, and Slashfested countless enemies, this time wary enough to get off and counter any aerial foes. However good he was, though, he still got hit. A _lot._

Figment wasn't faring as well as he was. Physically weaker than Maru, and dependent mostly on his magic, he was having quite a time against all the enemies he fought. Several times, to his annoyance, Maru had to rescue him before he got hit by a fatal attack. However, in turn, whenever his magic cards were about to run dry until his energy returned and he could "reshuffle" them back, Figment would always cast Cure on both him and Maru which always helped. (Maru was amused to find he was not the only one who had to reload his more powerful skills, though somewhat envied the dragon for being able to use whatever spells he wanted. 'Maybe I should learn some magic, too...')

Nevertheless, the two fighters were eventually cornered. Backs to a wall, they were panting and facing a whole angry mob of Heartless, who were angry for the impressive total of 300 who had been removed from their ranks by the two. Again, Maru felt excited and angered and scared. 'Am I going to die..._this_ time?' he wondered. 'Next to a being so _humiliating_ to call a teammate?' He glanced down at the pale and scared Figment, whose pigment had gone from purple to lilac. '...Okay, I could have _worse_ teammates,' Maru conceded.

Looking somewhat down, Maru noticed the growing shadow that was in front of them. He snapped up his head and instantly pushed himself and Figment as close to the wall as possible. Suddenly, a gigantic—_enormous-_-green blob slammed down on top of a bunch of Heartless, creating a small crater in the ground. The Heartless instantly disappated, and when Maru opened his eyes from an effort to shield from any dust, he gaped.

Before him was one of the most rotund creatures he'd ever seen in his life. It had a great tail ending in a tuft of magenta hair at the tip, purple triangle spikes running intermittently up it and the spine of the creature; pinkish-purple, very basic wings, truly tiny compared to the rest of its bulk; darkish green scales covering its body with a lighter, yellowish-green banded underside, with irregular, definitely dark green spots here and there on the scales. The scales themselves were smaller than Maru had expected. Although he couldn't see the head—it was bent over and giving a great glare at the Heartless—he knew it was there. It was very tall, too, and was at least 18 or so feet in height. Assuming it to be a dragon, it looked much more like one than Figment did. Its legs, although short, were wide at the hips, and its arms, spread out and arced in a scaring pose (and he could hear a deep roar emitting from the beast's mouth in front), were large as well. The paws even ended in sharp claws.

Figment gasped. "Another dragon?" he asked in disbelief. "I thought they were super-rare..." Then, with an eyebrow raise of recollection and suspicion, he asked it, "...Hey, aren't you...?"

The great beast twisted its torso without moving its head, and Maru, having been the owner of a great and powerful, as well as downright useful, tail, himself, grabbed Figment and jumped at just the right time. He guessed right: The green dragon spun itself around and smashed its tail into tens of Heartless in a fantastic sweep. Its head came into view. Instead of horns, it had two pointed ears, currently back a bit though looking like they usually remained flopped down. On its head was a messy tangle of hair of the same color as the tuft on its tail. It had a large, fat, round chin, and a fang, although its teeth were bared at current, stuck out on each side of its mouth. It had large, vibrant eyes, currently filled with anger—but not quite fury. Strangely enough, it wore a pair of wedge-like black eyebrows on its scales (but, then, it had _hair_, so...). As its front came into view some more, you could see that it was indeed quite well-fed, owning a very protruding front.

Maru landed in the new space cleared from the sweep and looked up in amazement at the gargantuan creature before him, and a smirk of victory on his face. He held Figment with one arm up to his chest, the little dragon gazing up in awe at the big dragon. "Learn this and learn it well, Figment," he said in a respectful tone, "you should never challenge a gigantic creature that has great strength, obesity, and, especially in this case, the ability to breathe fire...?" He sort of questioned that last one, giving an expectant look to the dragon, who was looking down at the two with an expression that was like, "Why are you two just _standing_ there!"

The green creature raised its eyebrows down at the pokémon-turned-human, then nodded and had an assertive look on its face. It turned, inhaled, and let forth, with a "RAAAWWRR!" that set Maru a little off-balance at the onomatopoeiacness of it, a great gout of flame, searing away a swath of Heartless. It stopped and gasped briefly, then smiled triumphantly, putting its four-digited paws on its chubby hips in victory and looked down at Maru with a look of proven worthiness.

Maru grinned. "Trust me, if there's anything worse than a grumpy snorlax, it's a grumpy snorlax who knows Flamethrower," he explained to Figment, whom he finally set down. He readied his weapon and looked up at the dragon. "Thank you for helping us breathe a little," he shouted, and returned to the fray, happy to have been reminded of a resident of his homeworld—whose formidableness he knew from an awkward personal experience when he was trying to build his non-psychic powers which he doesn't like to talk about (think "Spot, roll over!")—and invigorated to fight even more. That, and seeing that many Heartless go up in smoke—literally—made him feel a little excited to be able to get more experience so that he can essentially do the same soon. He wanted his powers back, and he wanted them _now._

So, the Keyblader, the card-thrower, and the great dragon fought for a few more minutes, during which time Figment managed to heal them all (he considered the giant to be a temporary teammate at least). Together, they mowed down enough Heartless to bring the combined total up to 800 (counting the about 30 that the dragon had destroyed before). Then, however, came another time where spirits were smacked harshly down. Maru had just seen, for a full minute, Heartless seemingly flying left and right. He knew, however, that the dragon had turned itself invisible to confuse the idiotic foes. Sometimes, Mewtwo wondered how it'd be to be 15 feet tall with the strength of fifty men. Playing with his enemies would have a different definition, where instead of just flinging them places, he'd be playing golf with them. And soccer, and kickball, and football, and...you get the idea. But all of a sudden, while Maru mused over this in his mind (and kept an eye on his surroundings as well; this skill was getting back a bit more now, and he could sense enemies from three feet away, which, although not much, was helpful nonetheless), he saw a bolt of lightning appear from seemingly nowhere.

_"AWAAARROOOOOO!"_ The deep-voiced cry came from the target, the now-visible dragon. It stood, paralyzed from the lightning...'Wait, is lightning usually...!' Maru realized that the "lightning" was the same light that he saw try and capture him that one night. But it was different...Instead of trying to take the dragon itself, something else was happening...Slowly, steadily, it began to _shrink!_

_"A shrink ray?" _Maru wondered aloud in disbelief, and spun to the direction of the beam. Sure enough, a figure in that same mantle was holding a ball in a black gloved-hand on top of a cliff. Its sleeve was black and hung down kimono-style. _"Stop it!"_ he shouted, and fought through waves of Heartless to futilely get to him.

Figment, angered that one of his own kind was being threatened, was the only one who could do anything. _"Hey, MORON!"_ he shouted, and tossed, with amazing accuracy, one card of each spell type at him. _**"BUZZ OFF!"**_

The man turned his head, and then had to break away from the capturing process in order to guard against the three spells coming his way. He got a small explosion, a burst of cold, and a lightning bolt all at once. The man then chuckled. "Tri Attack, I see," he said.

Maru growled. "That voice," he mumbled. "I recognize it!" He bashed away a shadow and pointed up at the man. _"YOU!_ _You're_ the one who stole _everything_ from me!" he roared.

The man looked at Maru, said, "So I am," and disappeared in a portal of darkness.

Maru growled and jumped on top a Large Body. _"Come back here!"_ he screamed as he tried to get to the man before he went, using Large Bodies as stepping stones, but the black-cloaked figure had disappeared before he was even halfway there. _"Dammit!"_ Maru dropped down and slashed everything around him, baring his teeth and a look of rage in his eyes. "Dammit," his fists clenched, "_dammit," _he brought his arms close to his chest, crossing them, _"DAMMIIIIT!"_

With a sound of stoneware breaking, time slowed, and shards of energy flew from around Maru like glass as he opened out his arms. After a second of this, Maru stood in stance, frustration fueling his energy to cause his eyes to glow faintly. Every motion of his body seemed to leave a very short trail, just long enough to exceed a mere blur. Power flowed through him, crackling around his fists occasionally as he adopted a stance slightly more similar to his Melee pose. His wounds had healed, as well. 'This...This is Break!' he realized. 'I did it! I was _wondering_ how...'

He went off, trotting slightly faster than normal. He tossed and caught his Keyblade after each swing, going right-left-finish in his combo, swinging with more vicious motions. For his finisher, he would either toss up his Keyblade while giving a mighty kick, then catch it with telekinesis and slam it down front, or he would basically do a Round Blitz, but quicker, ending by swinging an arc back in front, using telekinesis to make it look like his Keyblade was attached to his wrist by a rubber band. His air finisher consisted of a downward swing that orbited him once before he caught it. With the power of Break Mode, he could use these brief spurts of telekinesis without pain or penalty. He observed that his air finishers were slightly more powerful than he expected them to be.

Break Mode allowed him a few moments to vent his rage, though only a few. With each successful strike, he felt his tension lessen and lessen, while it also faded very slowly when he wasn't fighting. After about four good combos, Break Mode ended, and he felt his power return to its former level, sleeping once more. He looked at himself, blinking in thought. 'A full restore and a brief boost in power...short but sweet. Good...keeps from being too overpowered.' He blocked an attack and went on. 'Don't want things to be too easy, after all...'

Meanwhile, while Maru proceeded to throw a hissy upon discovering how to use Break Mode, Figment weaved in and out of Heartless, chucking cards here and there, to get to the dragon that had fallen down below the sea of Heartless. And just in time, too, since a Heartless had leapt onto the big roadblock to steal its heart. "Stay away!" Figment shouted, launching a pair of attack cards at the shadow.

The shadow was knocked away, and Figment skidded to a halt by the dragon's face. Now, he looked only to be about 6 or 7 feet tall. He patted his face (he was so short he didn't need to really kneel) and kept saying to wake up. The dragon opened his eyes and blinked groggily, looking at Figment, then sat bolt upright and looked at himself, standing up and looking around. His pupils went to little pinpricks as he realized he was much smaller now. _Much_ smaller. He said something that was complete gibberish to Figment, knelt, and began to sob like a little hatchling!

Figment sighed and did something he hated to do, and that was _smack_ the poor guy and say, "You can't cry now, ya big galoot! You're an easy target then!" He tossed a card at an approaching Heartless and shocked it. "Get up and fight! There's no time to waste sitting and crying, I'm sorry!"

The green dragon sniffed, then sighed and closed its eyes, nodding solemnly. He got up and, with a look of resolution, began to fight the now much-bigger enemies with his body.

By now, Maru had exited Break Mode and had calmed down. Together with Figment and the now-smaller—but still bigger than he was—dragon, the line was defended brilliantly. It felt like hours had passed since the beginning of the battle. And all the while, Maru felt more and more excitement, a true thrill. Several times he'd almost been killed, and several times he'd had to take a full minute with some enemies. 'This is something I have never felt before these events,' he realized. 'Never...But I have been fighting for all my life, so...why?'

Finally, there were only a few stragglers remaining. By then, many others had become visible, revealing that they've been fighting themselves, but had been lost among the crowd. It, admittedly, wasn't until Cloud came that things finally began to get better. Maru had gone up a couple levels, and was getting better at fighting with his new body, although he still had a ways to go before he considered using certain skills. The time to practice more advanced maneuvers such as throwing his weapon and bringing it back using telekinesis was not during a gazillion-Heartless brawl. He had gotten the hang of Break Mode—calling the state he entered Rend Form—and had accessed it a couple more times, though he preferred to save it for emergencies. The flow had stopped by now. At last.

Maru watched his final Heartless disappear. He panted, looked around, and crowed, "HAH_-HAAH!"_ very loudly, pumping his arm. He'd been mentally counting, perfectly, too: "Over 350 obliterated at my hands, exactly a thousand obliterated together!" he informed, raising his Keyblade high and a triumphant smile on his face.

Figment, trotting over and panting, gave a weak laugh. "I...can't believe you...kept count," he gasped, looking amazed at Maru. Then he raised an eyebrow. "You're...lying, aren't you...?"

Maru smirked and shook his head. "I never lie about combat," he returned. He felt the ground shake and looked up in surprise to see the large dragon plod over, panting and wheezing with his head down to his chest, triangular tongue lolling out, his arms totally limp and hanging in front of him. Maru couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy. He was so much smaller, it must have hurt his pride a lot. Respectfully, he said, "Thank you, large one," to him.

As he flopped down with a loud _THUD_, the dragon breathed, "~No problem,~" back. He fell back, lying on the ground.

Maru's eyebrows shot up. 'That dialect...Is he a pokémon?' "Well," he said, looking up and down at the spread-eagled, totally exhausted beast, "it must _have_ been, since you _did_ get shrunk down. I am sorry that happened..." He looked away. "I should have been able to fight better."

The dragon wheezed out a reply. "~No...I...wanted to...help you...It's...just who...I am..._Hooo,_ I'm pooped...~"

Maru chuckled, breathing a little himself still. "We all are," he replied. 'I'll be nice to him, but when we're rested up, I'll go on my own again; one partner is one too many already.' He looked at Figment, who was looking in amazement at him and the dragon. 'Although, he _is _a fairly good fighter...And an interesting method of fighting, too, using cards and all...'

Figment raised a paw. "Can you..." he began, trailing off a bit, but then got on again, "Can you understand him...? He sounds like he's speaking a form of Simlish..."

Maru tilted his head, confused. "Wait, you can't understand him?" he asked. "He's a dragon, too, so I suppose..." Then he remembered. "Oh, you must be different from others, since you were created from the imagination rather than...natural means," he finished, feeling a pang in his chest as he reconfirmed his origin. He hoped Figment didn't mind as much as he did.

Figment shook his head. "I don't understand a word he says," he confessed very openly. "And you _can?"_

Maru nodded. "Where I come from, I can understand all sorts of creatures called Pokémon," he explained. "They always say just their names, but I can understand as if I were one, myself." 'Hope I didn't just give away my biggest secret...' "It's...a talent I was born with," he decided to add.

Figment nodded in understanding. "I see."

Maru turned to the other dragon, who had rolled over into a sitting position. His tail was sticking out from between his legs so as not to be squashed underneath his bulk. He sighed and looked over to Maru with a concerned look. "~Are you alright?~" he asked. His voice was gentle, concerned, and had an underlying jolliness. He still panted a bit.

Maru nodded. "I'm okay," he replied. "Figment? Are you alright?" he translated to the smaller dragon. Figment nodded. "The question is, are _you_ okay?" he asked. "You look like you could pant for an eternity." 'I wonder, am I being a bit _too_ nice to him? Maybe it is because he is not a human, or he reminds me of a dragonite or a snorlax...A large pokémon, regardless.'

The magenta-haired head nodded, smiling. "~Yeah, I'm okay,~" he replied in his odd language that others might have found annoying to listen to. But Mewtwo, as if he heard a pokémon, heard perfect English. He gave a deep chuckle. "~I just need to lose some weight, that's all!~" he replied. "~That, or really work on my sumo wrestling...~"

Maru raised an eyebrow. "You may need a person whose culture has him used to such an ancient sport," he mumbled. He saw someone approaching out of his peripheral vision and looked. Leon was walking forward to them, face straight and expressionless as the hilt of a sword. "How'd you do, Leon?" Maru asked, smirking. "I got over 350, and together we got a thousand."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Nice. I got over a thousand _alone_," he calmly pwned. Maru secretly anger-veined at the fact he was not only beaten, but in such a mocking way. Leon looked to the large dragon. He narrowed his eyes. "Um..." He put a pair of fingers to his forehead for a moment, thinking. "...Elliott?" he finally asked. "So it's true you've been shrunk down to this size?"

Elliott nodded.

Leon let out an annoyed sigh and put his face in his hand. _"Greaaat,_ there goes a very big living wall," he grumbled. "We were depending on your size to act as a fighting barrier in case this sort of thing happened," he admonished Elliott, who drooped his head in shame.

Before anyone could say anything, Yuffie—the ninja girl Maru had met earlier that day—came over and hit Leon on the arm. "Le-on!" she admonished. "You can't blame the poor guy, I mean, seriously, would _you_ have expected to be zapped by that guy?" she asked, looking crossly at the Gunblader and crossing her arms.

Leon sighed and began walking past the three in front of him. "Okay, sorry, Elliott," he said as he passed. "Tell me when it wears off."

"It won't wear off," Maru said softly, looking down and clenching his fists.

Leon only said, "I know," as he walked away.

Yuffie came over and sighed. "That Leon! Always such a jerk!" she mumbled. She turned to Maru and the dragons and smiled. "Nice work, you guys," she congratulated. "Now, Maru, why don't you come on up to get your new outfit? Although..." She looked down at his legs. "Those pants _totally_ suit you."

Maru anger-veined. "Oh, shut up!" he said shortly. Yuffie and Figment laughed.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(- **

Maru and Figment stepped into the wardrobe. Leon and Merlin were in there already. The three fairies gasped and flew right to Maru, all saying things regarding how they were so happy the poor thing survived, and how well they saw him fighting, and was he hurt? and so on and so forth. Maru just sweatdropped and brought up his hands. "Easy, please, I'm fine," he insisted. "But may I _please_ get my new clothes, now?"

The fairies nodded and looked at Figment. They then looked at each other quickly. "You think...?" Flora asked.

"Maybe..." Merryweather mumbled.

"It'd be good for him..." Fauna agreed.

They all nodded in unison and looked at Maru. "Maru, Dear," Flora said, "I'm sorry, but...do you intend on fighting _alone_ after all this?"

Maru looked at them with the "Uh, _yeeeaahh_" look. "Yes," he replied slowly. Figment whipped his head around to look at him in disbelief and hurt.

Merryweather tsked him, waggling a finger. "Oh, look at the poor thing, you've hurt his feelings," she scolded Maru, pointing to Figment.

Maru suppressed a groan and looked down. Figment stared up back at him with classic anime about-to-cry wavering-outline eyes. He sweatdropped. "Er...Sorry, Figment," he apologized, "but, as good a fighter as you are now, and as good as you could someday be, I prefer to go alone..."

Figment sniffed. 'Oh, _please_, let this work...Jerk!' "B-b-but..." he sobbed.

Maru wondered if this was Fake Tears, if it was sincere, or a mixture of the two. Before he could say anything, though, a large throat was cleared. Looking up, everyone saw Elliott, who barely fit in the halls, standing there with arms crossed and a thoroughly displeased expression, looking straight at Maru. "~And just _what_ is going on here?~" he asked in that tone a mother would take when catching her kids in the act of something that would end up in one or more being scolded.

Maru, strong-willed as he was, couldn't help but feel a little like the guilty kids would. "Er..." was all he could say.

"Dear, you're going to have to learn to get along with others," lectured Fauna, and everyone turned to her. She had a stern expression on her face. "As you've surely experienced down there, you _aren't_ invincible. You can and _will_ get hurt."

Merryweather picked up, "Maru, we can tell you're a tremendously gifted warrior, but you can't _possibly_ face all the enemies you wish all on your own."

Flora smiled at the young man who had saved her dress what felt like eons ago. "Maru, dear, I know you're a magnificent fighter; I've seen it myself," she began gently, grandmotherly, "but something's obviously happened to make you, and I mean this without any offense, weaker than before. I can tell. Or...am I mistaken? I _terribly_ hate it when I make incorrect assumptions..." She knit her brow.

Maru sighed and bowed his head. After a moment, he nodded. "I was originally one of the strongest beings in my world," he finally confessed, head still bowed. Merlin smiled a triumphant smile. "I, in all truth, tried to take my world over," he further confessed, which made everyone gasp in surprise. "But worry not, for a lone boy sacrificed his life to stop the fighting, getting in a crossfire with me and the only other I would call my equal. Ever since, I have grown to be more and more compassionate towards...people. More concerned. I have even begun to want to help them. But my main goal in life remains to be finding my true purpose.

"One night, that same man I saw on the battlefield today, the one who stole the power and strength Elliott's size gave him, stole _my_ power and, I think, nearly my heart, as well," he continued. He felt pain at the memory of loss. "And since, I have had to rely on a weapon to defend myself, at least against these Heartless. They stole my world, as well as the only ones I have ever considered my friends...one of them being the very same boy who had died—and been resurrected in the most moving way, before my very eyes—thanks to me; the very same boy who saved my life, once figuratively and another time literally. A favor I failed to return, and then some. I lost my world because I was not strong enough to stop those God-damned Heartless _bastards!"_ He clenched his fist tightly, and a tear splashed down to the floor. He wrenched his face up, and was revealed to have a single tear falling down the side of his face. "I _have_ to fight alone! It was _my_ fault I did not successfully save Ash, and Brock, and Pikachu, and everyone! _My_ fault I could not save my home! If I had not let my guard down that night my powers were stolen, I could have been able to obliterate every single _one_ of the damn beasts!" His fist was shaking, and his eyes were glowing as bright as they near-invisibly could without Breaking.

Figment gaped up at him. "Maru..." he whispered in awe. Elliott, though uncomfortable with the fact he used to be a _bad guy_, was nonetheless moved by his story, the big heart he had.

Maru continued vehemently, "I _must _go alone! Only _I_ can fix my mistakes, only I! I alone!" 'I...' He cut his hand across the air, opening it as he did. "_No_ one must be with me if I am to fully atone for my mistakes! If this means that I nearly die in the process, then so be it! But I am _fighting alone!"_ His cry echoed around the room.

Flora calmly waited for Maru to finish, then flew down to him. Maru suddenly found he had a glowing red spot on his cheek shaped like a hand, his head turned away to bare this spot to everyone. Flora crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, dear, but even if that's part of the case in your belief, it's not the _real_ reason, and you're a _young man_, not a child!" she scolded, a hurt expression on her face. "You're being too proud. It's obnoxious." She lifted an elbow in the dragons' direction. "They both fought alongside you, and you saw how well they fight," she pointed out. "Especially little Figment! He's brave, Maru, and, although childish at times, more mature than you seem to be sometimes." She sighed and shook her head in disappointment.

"Maru, dear...you also have to realize that just because you think it's _your_ fault your world was swallowed up by a force that is beyond many's power, it doesn't mean that it has to be just _you_ who reclaims it in order for your 'sin' to be erased." She put the word in quotes verbally only.

"You can save your world with help," she continued to explain, opening her arms. "You probably _can't_ do so without it! No one person could cut their way through swarms of Heartless and restore their world all on their own. Sora, Riku, and King Mickey all couldn't have survived alone, and they are all very strong fighters. I doubt even Cloud or Leon could do so alone." She sighed again. "Dear, please, don't you see? You have to put that pride of yours into a pill and swallow it, bitter taste or not. Yet, like any bitter taste, it will fade in time. You'll see. Of course, although I believe you'll never forget this, you must never forget that you must be able to defend yourself, should the situation arise. As for now, though, please...don't be stupid."

She flew closer to Maru, who was looking away now, quietly fuming. She put her hand on his shoulder gently. Maru wanted to push it away, but when he looked into her eyes, he just couldn't. Those concerned eyes, full of hope for him. "Dear. Please. I don't want to see you hurt. Nobody in here does," she said softly. "We want you to achieve your goals, but you can't do it without any help! There are just _too many_ Heartless out there for one person to face alone and survive."

Maru looked away again; it was too hard for him. 'She's...she's right,' he knew, 'but...' He looked at Figment. Then at Elliott. Then at Merlin. Fauna. Merryweather. Flora. And then something hit him.

'...Ash would have said the exact same thing...'

Finally, he closed his eyes, bowed his head, and then opened them and looked up again. He nodded. "My friend would say the same thing," he admitted. "And it would not be fair to ignore the one I am trying to save."

Flora smiled. "Thank you, dear," she said, relieved. "You've just looked like a man, not just a young man...not _only _a man, but a _mature _one," she added, chuckling as she reminded Maru of his words when they had spoken in his world. "It takes a much more mature person to accept help than it does to reject it." She flew up and over to the other fairies. "Now, dear, please stand in the center, would you?" she asked sweetly, readying her wand.

Maru, embarrassed, wiped his tears and then stepped forth. 'Think I got a little too poetic, there...and I cannot _believe_ I was just scolded by a _fairy!'_ He stood and looked up at them. "Could you get this done with quick?" he asked. "I don't want to wear these tattered clothes much longer. But if you're going to touch the cloak, it'd better just be a touch-_up_," he added with an edge to his voice.

Merryweather and Fauna frowned, but Flora smiled. "Alright, then, dear," she said, and fired her wand at him. Maru, not expecting this, brought his arms up in defense, and got hit. A second later, he found he was wearing red clothes, somewhat fancyish. He sweatdropped.

Merryweather flew in front of her friend, saying, "No, no, no, he doesn't like that, he'd prefer a _cool_ color, not a _warm_ one." She zapped Maru then, and blue clothes went onto him. "See? They look _much_ better on him!"

Fauna shook her head. "I'm afraid you're wrong, a _secondary_ color would look better on him, by far," she argued, and zapped Maru, as well, putting green clothes onto him.

The three proceeded to take turns zapping Maru, one at a time, until their target, now quite annoyed, shouted, _"Will you make up your minds?"_ and stopped them.

They sighed and nodded. "Alright," Flora gave in. "Girls? Together, now..." And, in one smooth, fluid motion, the three brought their wands up, back, and then forward as they zapped Maru one last time, but in unison...well, almost. Flora and Merryweather zapped a fraction of a second together before Fauna.

The result, instead of a black outfit that Maru would have been okay with, was a very surprising one, indeed. While his cloak remained the same—shortened but repaired back to its former, ripped glory, though—and his belt buckle was the exact same as when he'd won it so long ago, he wore a completely different shirt and pair of pants. His shirt was just a plain t-shirt with designs, but no pockets, or pauldrons, or zippers, or anything. The shirt was mainly pale lavender, but the front torso had a dark purple semi-circle with a pattern of triangles in black lines over it. The sleeves each had a sort of wave design, of three rows of semicircle "waves," one on top the other. Nearest the elbow was purple, farthest was black, and between was dark purple. His right shoulder bore nothing, but his left bore a single crescent moon.

His pants were much different than his old ones, and _far_ different than his "SERIOUS" pants he'd been wearing for an hour and a half. He now wore deep purple shorts kept up by a black belt (under which the shirt was tucked), but over the shorts were light grey leggings, attached via zippers that went from the middle of each legging on front to the front of each on the back. On the leggings, also attached to the shorts, by hidden buttons this time, were a pair of large, encompassing pockets with no real fabric front, but only very loosely woven strips of black fabric, like a net. Below hung arrays of denim strips forming a brick-lined pattern that went for three "layers" before hitting the ankles with a final band. The leggings ended precisely so that the black shoes, with decorative zippers on the outside of them and a deep purple tongue, were visible, but the socks still weren't, and that the leggings wouldn't hinder them. They covered the back and sides a bit, but not too much. The leggings were loose and somewhat baggy, and comfortable to move about in, and didn't feel too binding.

On Maru's hands were a pair of palmless fingerless gloves, purple with a black and yellow triangle design over the top of them. A thin black belt attached them to the hand around the wrist, and a large faded-dark-raspberry-colored cuff with another brick pattern went down a hand-length from the belt. Maru looked very interesting, indeed.

He looked at his new outfit, holding up his hands and seeing the actually very nice-looking gloves, with the brick patterned cuffs, which had an odd darker brick here and there. He somewhat liked the brick pattern, since it reminded him of solidity and defense, as well as resistance. The leggings were quite interesting and intricately done, pleasing to the eye. He moved his legs a bit to test how binding the leggings were, and ran a little. 'And they don't restrict my movement, either, as big and baggy as they are,' he noted. 'Surprisingly very light, too.' His shirt, he was okay with. (He didn't care about his shoes, as long as they weren't pink or big and goofy.) He turned his head and smiled up at the fairies. "I like it," he declared. "Not bad."

"We're so glad you like it," Merryweather said, smiling. "Although, it was meant to be more black..." She looked at Flora. "Did we go a little too early?"

Flora nodded. "Probably," she agreed, "but purple is such a wonderful color for him." She and the other two smiled down at him sweetly. "But those clothes aren't just for looks, you know," she pointed out, as if she were hiding some extra surprise.

Maru looked up and furrowed his brow. "Do you mean that Break ability Figment relayed to me?" he wondered.

The fairies nodded. "Yes, dear," Fauna confirmed. "These clothes bear that same enchantment. When you reach for the power within you, your inner tension will snap, causing you to unleash your strength. It isn't _exactly _as powerful as the Drive ability we gave to Sora, but..." She frowned worriedly. "Sometimes, Sora would enter a Heartless-like form when he tried to Drive, which put his life at risk...not to mention gave everyone the scare of the century...Understand we don't want to risk something like that happening again, dear, please."

Maru raised an eyebrow. 'Drive? Wonder what that did...'

"But the stronger you get, the more power you can unleash by Breaking," Merryweather pointed out. "When you reach the peak of the enchantment, you could unlock enough power to perhaps put you close to your former glory, so to speak."

"We should enchant you, too, shouldn't we?" Fauna wondered, looking at Figment...and Elliott.

Maru jerked his head, said, "Huh?" and whipped around to Elliott. Elliott had his eyebrows raised, and a hopeful look on his face. His ears waggled a little bit cutely. Maru frowned, raising an eyebrow, and asked, "Who said Elliott was coming? I thought Figment was the only one to come with," to the fairies, whom he turned to again. Behind him, Elliott's jaw dropped in shock before he slumped and hung his head, ears hanging limply and a disappointed, hurt frown on his mouth.

Flora frowned at him. "Not _again_, Maru!" she admonished. "Elliott is an excellent fighter, and was trained by Goofy a few years ago. Goofy is the captain of the guards where His Majesty the King resides, and Elliott was a very good pupil of his. Just like how Figment was trained to use magic by Donald, the court magician who also accompanied Sora."

'I wonder if I'll ever meet this Sora person at some point,' Maru mused. 'I hear so much about him.' He sighed and nodded. "Alright. Elliott may come, too," Maru allowed. Elliott's ears and face perked up, a happy open smile on as he slowly straightened again. "Besides..." Maru looked back at him and smiled sadly at the dragon. "He and I _both _need to get our power back." Elliott's smile turned to a sad one, too...one that Figment thought held the slightest hint of deep-set worry.

"Thank you for understanding, Maru," Flora breathed in relief. "Now, dragons? Front and center, please."

Figment trotted over and Elliott, who suddenly looked quite nervous, stepped forth. Fauna flew down before Elliott. "This won't hurt a bit, dears," she assured them sweetly, raising her wand.

Merryweather flew down in front of a smiling Figment. "Now, hold still..." she instructed, raising hers.

Together, with an oblivious smile from Figment and a face-clenching flinch from Elliott, the fairies tapped their heads. Sparkles showered them, similarly to how they covered Maru. Elliott peeped an eye open before looking in wonder at it, and Figment looked himself over. Elliott gasped suddenly, and they turned to look.

"Oh, yes, Elliott—we have to bind the enchantment to something apart from your body," Flora explained, floating over and looking a little sorry. "I hope it's not too much bother."

The change was simple enough: Brown ankle- and wrist-belts with silver, circular buckles and end covers fit snugly on his chubby form. Around his waist, a wide, tri-braided dark brown belt with a silver, square buckle held up four dark green-side-of-teal-colored, black-belted-shut, varying-sized, squared side pouches, similar to cargo pockets, two pouches on each side. They hung via two metal links at the metal bits holding them at the corners of the bags and to the belt, where they fit under one of the strands to stay put. The belt itself finished the braid before reaching a length of plain leather with large silver eyelets. The buckle went through the last eyelet before the braid, and the remaining length, going to Elliott's left, wrapped once under the belt and hung out a bit off-center of his middle, long enough to show one more eyelet. A silver ring was attached to the end; it was wider than the buckle's interior, but it appeared as if it would fit if threaded through diagonally. (It's simple when compared to the other two's outfits.)

Elliott frowned uncertainly at the additions, especially the belt, which he grabbed and shifted around his roundness a couple times. The bags flew out a bit, flopping against his sides when he changed directions. "~It's...snug,~" he described, unsure. Maru translated. He swallowed, then looked comically resolute. "~But if that's what it takes, I'll break my vow of nudity and wear 'em!~" he declared in exaggerated duty. Figment laughed—he could tell from his tone he was being funny. Maru was surprised at this silliness; he'd thought of Elliott as a bit more serious than that, or at least not one to make such a joke. He (somewhat reluctantly) translated for everyone.

"Thank you, dear," Flora smiled, relieved.

"That reminds me," Merlin piped up, walking over to Elliott. He stopped and looked at him. "You don't fight with a weapon, correct?" Elliott nodded. "Then this should help you." Merlin flicked his wand, and in a puff of smoke and bright shapes, plain, silver and dark teal armor covered Elliott's front, tail, upper arms, and paws (covering the wrist belts). Elliott gawked at himself again. Merlin explained, "It's armor—Not only will it protect you in battle, but it will give an even bigger what-for to those dreadful Heartless!" He swung a fist to emphasize this last point.

Elliott raised his eyebrows. "~Really? Huh...~" He shrugged. "~Well, it doesn't hurt, so I guess...~"

"Snap your fingers when you want to don or remove it," Merlin instructed. "And don't worry, if you snap your fingers when you don't want it on or off, it won't do anything." Elliott frowned, paw to chin, before he tried it. In a flash of light, the armor vanished. He smiled and nodded energetically to Merlin, thanking him. Merlin chuckled and waved a hand, saying he was welcome.

"I hope our gifts help you regain your strength, your friends, and your world," Flora bade to Maru, Figment, and Elliott, who turned to the speaker.

"Thank you, ladies," Maru nodded, "for all of this. I am indebted to you." He bowed.

The fairies blushed and went, "Oohhh," together. "You are such a gentleman, Maru!" Fauna complimented.

"And you don't need to do anything for us little old ladies," Merryweather added, batting a hand. "You've _more_ than earned this!"

Flora nodded. "But there's something else you should probably use," she said, raising her wand.

Maru sweat-dropped, and Figment groaned behind him. "What, _more _stuff?" the dragon whined. "We should get _going_, already! Sorry, but I'm getting a little impatient." He crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

Flora chuckled. "I see your mentor has rubbed off a little bit on you," she noticed, and then brought her wand down. A small flash of light emitted from it, and a trail of sparkles flew from it, around everyone's heads, and out the door. "And Figment, you should probably be quite pleased at this, then," she added.

Everyone had a curious look on their faces, but then a low hum was heard. The people in the room turned and gasped at the very blocky spaceship that hovered up into view out the sunset-filled window. Figment jumped for joy. _"The Gummi Ship!"_ he squealed. He raced to the window to find a latch so he could jump right onto it.

Everyone except Leon and Maru laughed (those two not laughing because they're badasses and had to keep their image). "Now, you should probably say goodbye to everyone before you go," Merryweather advised. "Don't be so anxious to go somewhere so soon. You've got an incredible adventure ahead of you, and you probably won't be actually sleeping for a while. It'll be tiring on the mind, staying up and fighting constantly. One of you has to drive, and all of you have to keep an eye out for enemy Heartless ships as you go between worlds."

At this, Maru spun around, wide-eyed. "'Between _worlds?'"_ he repeated. "Are you saying that..."

"Yup," Leon said, coming forward. "You're going to be going to other worlds. It's the best way to find clues when this world is deplete of them." Smart boy he was, he used a reason that would appeal to Maru; duty might not go well. He stopped in front of him, arms crossed. "It's a tough journey you've got," he told him. "You'd better be careful, especially after all the hell we've gone through to help you get dressed." He couldn't help but smile at his little joke.

Maru sweatdropped and chuckled sheepishly a little. He bowed to him a bit. "Thank you, Leon—everyone, thank you," he said, turning and opening his arms to indicate the room. "Thank you for...helping me, and for withstanding my personality for so long. As well, thank you for your hospitality," he added, bowing again. "And for teaching me some humility." He smirked at Flora. "I think this is still a bit much for simply beating off a few thugs," he joked.

Flora laughed. "Oh, you can never give too much," she dismissed. "As long as you really want to give it all." She smiled and waved. "Well, I suppose you'd better be off, dearies," she said.

Merlin smiled and strode over. "But Figment, you should take this, too," he added, and gave him a small book. "It's a journal. You should record what happens. Or, at least, _some_one should."

_Figment_ sweatdropped. "Uhh...I...uh...I-I don't—have good handwriting!" he confessed hastily, grinning sheepishly. "Maybe Elliott?" He offered the book to his larger counterpart.

Elliott waved his hands and shook his head. "_~Uh_-uh! It's _way_ too small,~" he reasoned, "~and I...um...~" He sunk his head in shame, cheeks darkening. "~...I can't write...~" Maru translated for everyone, feeling a small bit of joy at being the only one able to understand Elliott, though he felt sorry for his illiteracy. He hesitated, then awkwardly patted him on the side, smiling in nervous comfort. Elliott gave him a sheepish smile back.

Figment sweatdropped again. "Uhhhh...Maru?" he suggested, offering the book.

Maru sweatdropped as well. "Er, I don't like writing by hand, and besides, I'll be too busy..."

Figment anger-veined. "Y'think _I_ won't be?" he asked.

But before an argument started up (already!), one single, small, piercing voice rang out a very familiar _"HEY!"_

Instantly, every head turned at the single voice, all registering "annoying" from that one word. What seemed like a small, floating orb of blue light with delicate clear wings like a fairy's was in the place the voice had came. It flew over, sort of making a twinkling sound as sparkles fell from its body and disappeared. "You know, I'd be glad to keep a journal," the little creature chirped. "I can hide with Maru and observe everything, which I'm really good at doing. I don't really have much use except for guidance and having an entire encyclopedia of random facts in my head—mainly about enemies—so I'd be great at this!" The little thing's high, light voice sounded feminine. She floated around in front of Maru.

Maru blinked at it, wondering what it was. "Err...and you..." Then, something startled him. He smacked his forehead. _"SHIT!_ That reminds me! I can't believe all this talk of worlds and such hadn't reminded me before!" He rifled through his cloak, hoping—praying—he still had it. Finally, with a great sigh of relief, he produced a small envelope, bent and slightly torn. A red wax seal was on it, broken. He opened the flap and brought out the letter inside. "Still intact," he mumbled in relief, and put it away, smiling. He grinned at the ball with wings. "Now, if memory serves me well, you're Navi the fairy, correct?" he asked.

The blue ball bobbed up and down. "The one and only!" she replied, then paused and asked, "Wait, how do you know me?"

Maru smiled, and replied calmly, "If _you're_ here, I suspect we'll be finding out eventually." He nodded. "You can accompany us as journal-keeper, just as long as you don't nag us about anything." He eyed her in a way that seemed to mean well, but Navi saw a fierce fire behind those eyes, ready to scorch her if she decides to pester him about anything.

Navi sweatdropped a tiny little bit. "Y-yes, Maru, I'll...at least _try_ not to nag," she promised. "But if I figure out a way to beat an enemy quickly, I think I have the right to tell you."

Maru nodded. "That is, if I hadn't figured it out yet," he added. "But...you can't carry that thing, it's too—" he began, talking about the journal.

In a tinkle of light, a small notebook was produced by the fairy. It floated in front of it magically. "I have my _own_ journal, thank you," she bobbed, "one I can shrink or grow to suit my or others' needs. If you need to look at it, just ask. But only after I'm done writing in it." She shrunk it in another sparkle and flew over to Maru's chest. "Er...anywhere I can get a good vantage point?" she asked. "I wish you wore a hat...though that hair looks like it'd more than work..."

Maru smirked. "You can just hide in one of the folds of my cloak's collar," he offered. "Just make sure not to move anything in there. I've got a potion left still and that envelope, which is very important, so don't touch it. Unless you can touch it up," he added. Then he sweatdropped. 'Great, now I'm starting to make puns..._not_ a good sign...'

Navi chirped, "Okay!" and flew right in at the front. Her light disappeared from the room. Maru looked down and saw her just, really, disappear. He shrugged and turned to Figment and Elliott. "Well, let's say our goodbyes and get anything we need, and we can leave," he told them. He started walking out.

"Maru!" Flora called.

He stopped and let out a "heh." "What, some _other_ thing I need?" he asked, turning his head.

Flora nodded. "A wish for luck." She waved. "Goodbye, you three! Good luck!" The other two fairies did the same.

"May fortune find you safe, young lad!" Merlin said, waving.

Leon just lifted a hand. "Don't get yourself killed, 'k?"

Maru smirked. "I'm not going to," he promised, then turned and strode out.

"Bye-ee! Bye!" Figment called, waving and walking out.

Elliott said his own goodbyes while he stood to wait to be in the rear, so as not to bump into anyone on accident backing out.

*****Elliott joined the party!*****

*****Navi joined the party!*****

*****RECIEVED Journal*****

_Navi's Journal. Navi records all the events of the world, details on characters and enemies, and more. Check it in the main menu._

Maru looked up at Elliott as they walked down the stairs. "You really need that armor?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, your front and paws, I can understand, but your arms?"

Elliott nodded, smiling. "~It makes sense. It kinda hurts a little when you have to be a living shield, and swords and stuff hurt a lot more,~" he explained. He shrugged and smiled down at Maru. "~By the way, thank you, erm...~" He frowned and put his paw to his chin in thought. Maru supplied his name. Elliott snapped his fingers and nodded. "~Maru! Sorry, I forget some things sometimes,~" he apologized, shrugging and smiling sheepishly.

Maru shook his head. "We all forget some things," he reasoned, "so it is not all your fault." 'He's a bit...dorky, but I feel more relaxed around him. His aura is soothing to me.' (Maru couldn't see aura anymore (it was a skill that he never really used much), but he could sense them again during the fight. He was startled when he found Heartless gave off no aura whatsoever, yet still had a field of menace that stood the hairs on the back of his neck on-end.)

Elliott nodded again. "~Well, anyway, thank you so much, Maru, for letting me come with you,~" he continued. "~And I swear, cross my heart and hope to die, that I'll help protect you.~" He bent his upper body and put an arm over his chest in a mock bow.

Maru bit back the retort that reflexively rose up, that he didn't need to be protected, and instead said, "Thank you, Elliott. And I hope that this journey finds that bastard who stole both of our former power. I suppose it took quite some time for you to grow to that grand height, didn't it?" he asked. He knew that creatures that grew to be very large also often prided themselves in their size, and so he knew how Elliott must have felt.

Elliott nodded, but not solemnly or sadly or anything. "~I don't really mind that much that I'm shrunk down,~" he shrugged. He chuckled. "~At least I'm not going to make any more holes in school houses the size of a...a...really big tree!~" he compared, a little embarrassed he couldn't come up with anything better.

Maru thought a bit. "Oak tree?" he suggested.

Figment, who'd been listening to an exchange of normal speech and babble, now looked up in curiosity, a confused expression on his face. "Okay, what the heck are you talking about now?" he asked, raising an eyeridge. "First it was some emotional stuff, I thought, but now you're talking about _trees?"_

Maru tried not to laugh, and instead focused on striding out into the canyon, which now had the great ship (Kingdom model) in front of the city walls. "We were talking about his size, and he tried comparing himself to a tree," he explained. "But he couldn't think of a good kind. So I helped him."

Figment grinned. "Another victory for the imagination!"

Maru rolled his eyes. "Please, stop right there," he asked tiredly. "I just want to get on this ship and get to work."

"Yeah, besides, the readers are enough people getting ticked at this chapter's events, anyway," Figment mumbled.

Maru and Elliott blinked. _"~Huh?"_

Figment quickly shook his head. _"Nothing, nothing!_ Just mumbling!" he covered, laughing nervously.

Maru sweatdropped. "Then again, I probably don't want to know," he muttered. They got to the ship. "What's this thing run on?" he asked. When no answer came, he looked down to Figment. "Do you—er..."

The dragon had donned a big, silly grin. Maru turned to Elliott, who was smiling great and broad, a very content and happy one. Maru's sweatdrop grew. "Smiles," Figment explained. "And I think you might need to do something more than just that smirk you use so much," he broke the news to Maru.

Maru's sweatdrop got as big as half his head and he stepped back. "I-Illogical!" he stuttered, chuckling a little. Figment laughed at the unintentional joke. "I mean, really, smiles generate no power! ...Well, no, I take that back, they are prone to generate _emotions_, which have a power all their own," he complied, tilting his head and looking up a bit, "but I've yet to see something that runs on emotions." 'But there's no way I can produce a _full_ smile! I wouldn't be caught _dead!'_

Figment waggled his claw. "You're not going _anywhere_ until you smile. You don't have to do it _all_ the time, just now and then is fine." He smiled broadly. "C'mon, lemme see a smile!"

Maru looked helplessly back to Elliott, who nodded encouragingly. He tapped his collar, and Navi came out, tilted up and down in a silent nod, then went back. He gulped and looked to see if nobody was around. Alone. 'Here goes...' He pulled one end of his mouth up, then the other, but very slowly, twitching. A weak two-ended smile was on his visage, but it made Figment shake his head and make "more" motions. Blushing deeper and deeper, Maru stretched his mouth up more and more. But he let it fall. "I can't," he said, "I just can't."

Elliott frowned. "~Come on, it takes more to frown than smile, so why couldn't you be able to?~" he asked.

Maru sighed. "It...goes against my nature," he confessed.

Figment sighed. "Well, think of something that would make you laugh, or at least feel very happy," he suggested.

Maru nodded and closed his eyes. 'What would make me happy...' He imagined Giovanni blowing into smithereens, along with Team Rocket. _That_ worked.

Figment shuddered, and Elliott let out an uneasy grunt. "Uhh...we're not looking for sadistic, here..." Figment informed him. "Happy. Think happy!"

Maru clenched his fist. 'What memories of mine are _happy _like that?_'_ he wanted to scream. 'What happy memories won't make me want to sigh in loneliness? I...I have none...'

Navi flew out again. "Maru, you've got a lot to be sad about," she said plainly. "But you've also got a lot to be happy about now. Think. You're a smart cookie."

Maru looked at her. "Navi..." He looked at himself. 'I...I'm alive. I can fight. With the Keyblade's power, I can fight the Heartless. Plus I've got some cool clothes, and Break Mode to let me use more of my full strength. And I'm coming along well with my levels.' He looked at Navi, Figment, and Elliott. 'I hate to admit it, but I've got people who are willing to support me...comrades.' He looked at the ship. 'And I've got a ship to take me to different worlds...where I can find my friends...' A small, hopeful, even excited smile spread on his face. '...and a way to restore my world.'

Navi nodded, Figment clapped, and Elliott gave a sound of approval. "Yes! That's _it!_ Wonderful!" the little purple draggy cheered. Maru smiled more, determined, as he clenched a fist, unwittingly resembling one of his friends. "I think the ship got a _big_ boost, there!" Figment added, nodding to it. He stepped over and opened the cockpit. "Come on! And Elliott, don't worry, it's big enough for you!" he called, and hopped in.

Elliott smiled and, after a moment of figuring it out, clumsily crawled in, making the ship sag a little bit. Maru just vaulted into the cockpit, into the front seat. Navi flew over and back into his collar. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked Figment and Elliott, raising a sly eyebrow. He grin-smirked. "Show me how to fly this thing!"

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

_**Interlude**_

After Maru figured out the simple launch sequence on his own (the dragons had no clue what to do), the Gummi ship broke the atmosphere of the world, and a wondrous sight met Maru's eyes as he looked out of the cockpit window. It looked like space, sort of, but it was much different. Sure, there were stars and galaxies, but there were clouds of shine, swirls of vibrancy, and curtains of shimmer, as well. 'I expect nothing less from the world between the worlds,' he mused.

"Hello, there, Mr. Maru, sir!" greeted a chipper, squeaky voice. Maru looked at the dashboard and saw a little black-nosed chipmunk in a big-pocketed smock and a pair of deep raspberry gloves on top. He saluted him with a smile, bearing his single buck tooth. "Disney Castle Engineer Chip, at your service!" he introduced.

Another chipmunk trotted up top and stood next to him. He looked similar to his brother, but had a more relaxed expression, a small tuft of longer fur on top his head, and a round, red nose. When he smiled and saluted, he showed two buck teeth. "Disney Castle Engineer Dale, when yer ready!" he greeted.

"We're here to help you operate the Gummi Ship as you travel across the worlds," Chip explained, gesticulating. "The launch was simple enough, but the rest is a bit trickier."

"Yeah! We wouldn't wancha to blow up before ya even got to yer first world!" Dale joked. Chip sighed in exasperation.

"_Hi, Dale!" _Figment waved from his seat, grinning.

Dale grinned and waved back. "Hiya, Fig! Haven't seen ya in forever!" he called. "Yer goin' with Mr. Serious-Pants over here, huh?"

"Please, it's Maru," Maru corrected through gritted teeth. 'That's already gotten old...'

Figment nodded, then tilted his head, furrowing his brow. "Wait, aren't you guys supposed to be holed up in Disney Castle and guiding us from the control room or something?" he asked. "Why are you yourselves here?"

"Funny you should mention..." Chip said, frowning, at a loss. "See, a while ago, shortly after His Majesty sent Sora a letter, our world's barrier just up and...well, upped!"

"Barrier?" Maru repeated, tilting his head.

"You can't get through to other worlds normally because of the barriers," Dale explained. "We're able ta open up a hole in 'em with the Gummi Ship, 'cuz it's s'posed ta be made of the same stuff or somethin', as long as we've got the coordinates fer the world."

"For some reason, though, our world's barrier won't let anyone out," Chip continued, intrigued. "Or, in our case, in."

"We were just takin' 'er on yer standard maintenance flight after fixin' 'er up, gettin' 'er ready for Sora and Riku's big thingy, when suddenly, our signal back home cuts out!" Dale described, jumping to emphasize that last part. "So we headed on over ta Radiant Garden and talked with Cid about it."

"He can't make heads or tails of it," Chip said. "He said we should try to check in on Sora, but..."

"You couldn't get into his world, either, could you?" Maru asked, furrowing his brow. They shook their heads. Maru sat back, hand to chin. "Huh...That meant all the known Keybladers are out of commission, since King Micky is one, too..."

"Looks like _you're _the only one, Maru!" Chip pointed out. "Unless there are others we don't know of."

Maru hmmed. "Hopefully, this shouldn't be a problem, though, since the other...what, Big Bads, are they called? Sora took care of them, right?" he asked.

"As far as we can tell," Chip shrugged.

"I dunno, Chipper," Dale looked at his brother. "This seems _awwwwf'ly_ suspicious..."

Maru thought a moment longer. 'Something's _definitely _up,' he agreed. 'It's got to be related to that guy in the masked mantle...the one that robbed me and Elliott.' "...We'll burn this bridge when we inevitably get there."

Chip nodded. "If you say so. Anyway, we got called over a while ago by Cid, who filled us in on your situation."

"We'd love to help ya look fer yer friends, Maru!" Dale enthused, jumping again.

Maru gave a small smile. "Thank you, Chip, Dale," he nodded.

"No problem!" Chip and Dale pumped their fists.

Maru looked back at his companions. "Where to first?"

"Well, it's your pick," Chip answered. He pointed to a little video screen on the right side of Maru's dashboard, or really control panel. It displayed a map of sorts, and a few globes that each had their own unique icon were present on it.

"The ship's sensors indicate two worlds we can go to," explained Dale enthusiastically. "You just touch a globe ta get info, touch the green circle that pops up ta set a course to that world, and hold on and try not ta doom us all!" He grinned.

Chip bopped his brother on the head. "Dale!" he scolded.

Dale chuckled and held his head where he was hit. "Yow! Heheh, sorry, Chip, couldn't help it!" He looked up at Maru again, who was raising an eyebrow. "Really, though, you'd better be careful. There's always been Heartless and Nobody forces trying ta destroy us as we travel ta different worlds. But don't worry!" He held a finger up as he stood straight and confidently.

Chip continued, "After you clear a path through the enemy's forces, you can warp right through to the world you need to get to." He nodded. "Just don't forget that, to avoid wasting any time!"

"Yeah, it's not like we have all the time in the world!" joked Dale, who laughed. Maru smacked his forehead and commented that that was pretty bad. Dale laughed and put his paw behind his head. "Aw, I don't care, as long as I think it's funny!" he replied, then scampered off, Chip close behind, to his station.

Maru nodded and cracked his knuckles. "Alright, then," he said, and looked at the map.

On the map was a beautiful cathedral surrounded by a medieval city. Colorful balloons came up from it. Maru touched it. Some data came up by it. It was mostly blank, but the ship's computer called it "Paris, France". Its battle level was 17. 'I'm level 14 right now,' Maru thought. (Though he'd defeated a lot of Heartless, they had given out pretty low experience, for some reason, and he'd only gained two levels since the first fight with Figment.) Two buttons came up, a green one that said "Set Course" and a red one that read "Cancel". Maru canceled.

Next to Paris, France was a world with steamboat in the middle of what looked like a swamp. Some dense marshy forest surrounded part of the world. Its title appeared to be "Devil's Bayou" and its battle level was 15. Maru canceled out again and sat back in thought.

'Where to?'

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

(Zeroth things zeroth: _**READ AT LEAST THE PART LIKE THIS IF NOTHING ELSE!**_ I know there's a ton of stupid stuff here, but I feel like I have to explain myself, especially re-writing this whole thing.)

First things first...Yes. Snorlax _can_ learn Flamethrower (via Unova TM35). Look it up. It made my day.

Second, yes, Moves have shots to them. They only have one shot at first level, though—Maru has to level them up like other Deck Commands (which will follow the system used in BbS because, do you really need to level up a Command so much and get so little gain each time, like in Re:coded? ...Okay, I admit I don't really understand Re:coded's leveling mechanics entirely, buuuut...). How many shots they have at max level depends on the Move—the more PP the move has, the higher its max, but the less, the lower. 5-PP Moves will only have a max of 2 uses, being 1 until at max level.

Third, on that note, I still have to figure out how Command Synthesis will work...

Fourth, ENORMOUS EXECUTIVE DECISION: The Drive Gauge system shall be replaced with the Break Gauge system.

(This means, I am terribly sorry, but no Mewtwo for a loooooong time. *ducks into bomb shelter and speaks through loudspeaker*)

I came up with it during the road trip portion of the 2011 Coe College Band Tour, and wrote down the basics. It's _kinda _like Drive, except that it can be done solo. That said, almost all player characters can do it. (This means not just Maru and Ash, but their teammates, including temp members from worlds. Pokémon can't do it, however. In this "game", the player will be able to control other characters than the Keyblader at any time, and will have to if knocked out during Tournaments. This also allows drop-in-drop-out multiplayer.) It's kind of a combination of Drive and Limit Break (from Days) in that it's an individual ability that gets progressively stronger the farther in the story you go that you need to fill up before use.

I'm going to explain in short how it works now, and will detail the basic effects of Rend Form for Maru. When either Maru or Ash gains a new Form, I'll detail its effects here. You can find this and more-detailed info on FerreWiki under the "**Break**_**Gauge**" entry.

1: There are a maximum of five levels (bars) of Break. Each represents a new level of power, each getting stronger than the last.

2: When you have access to the second and above Forms, you can choose which mode you wish to use instead of be forced to use the Form associated with the level. So if you have two bars full, you can still choose to enter Rend Form instead of the second Form (which I'll name when the story gets there ;) ). You can use more than the required amount to have more time in that Form, however, so if you're fine with the boosts Rend Form gives you but want to go longer, go right ahead!

3: You fill the Break Gauge's bars by either using an item called a tension (hi-)riser to fill one full bar (or three), by healing teammates, or by inflicting damage. Commands fill it faster than normal attacks.

4: The Break Gauge can be used for other things, too—not just Breaking. I'll reveal these as I get to them. I already let one cat out of the bag on the Break Gauge page on my wiki, though! ;)

~Maru's Rend Form: Uses a minimum of 1 full Break bar. Attack+, Sp. Atk+, Speed slightly+. Gives an extra 3 uses to each Move in the Deck. Maru fights fancier and more powerfully, combining telekinesis with finishing strikes. Sp. Def+ (aka, magic resistances). Maru gains an extra Support Ability based on his choice in his Dive to the Heart. (In this case, he gets Move Haste, which decreases reload time for Moves by 20%.)

Alright, what next...Oh, Maru's outfit. I changed it a little bit because I thought the leggings' hangings were a bit too complex, with the braids and all. So I changed them to the way they are now. It was either brick lines (which do match with his wrist cuffs) or criss-cross, which I wanted to avoid given how it's already there with the pockets. I also changed his cuffs' color because they bugged me a little—they didn't really match with the rest of him.

Sixth, Elliott's outfit. I never was 100% okay with him always being in armor like that, since it was his weapon and it always being out defied KH tradition (I mean, Goofy doesn't carry his shield out, soooo...). That, and I wanted to give Maru's teammates the Break Mode Ability, too. This required clothing. Again, I kinda wanted a way to get rid of Elliott's armor being his outfit—and thinking back on it, getting new armor would mean giving up the charm, which is kinda bad. But I didn't want to change Elliott's design too much—which is hard, given the fact he's naked. (Figment was easy—his yellow sweater is an official standard interpretation of him aside from his naked form.) And this is Kingdom Hearts, so of course it had to be more than basic.

So, after much faffing around and thinking, I came up with his current, relatively simple outfit. (I fear I'll have to draw him—and consequently Figment—now, though...and I can't draw Western cartoons very well without distorting them to my style O_O; ) It was that or throw a scarf on him, and I don't quite think he's that much of a scarf person outside cold environments (like BIG Mountain). In the process, I discovered his main belt fit the need for bags to hold items, a problem I _just _realized when redoing that part. Anyway, I hope you all don't mind! (Oh, and I gave him gauntlets because it's gotta _hurt _punching Heartless, which he undoubtedly does in addition to his body slamming and tail attacks.)

Seventh, I decreased the numbers of Heartless the group slays because I didn't quite want to do another Battle of 1000 Heartless. Plus, they're really low-level (though Maru's really high for this point in the game by KH standards, but then again he'd been training like hell, before (read: I didn't think about this very hard)), so...yeah. However, I kept the actual event because of what happens to Elliott.

Eighth, **important **_**important **__**READ THIS NEXT PART EVEN IF YOU SKIMMED OVER THE REST!**_ ...And now that I have your undivided attention—well, okay, I dunno how many tabs you've got open right now—I've got one more announcement to make:

Finally, WE'RE OFF! You know what that means? _AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION! _Since I'm gonna kinda be outta commission for a while (it's the beginning of the year, so naturally homework's light right now), I think that should give you all plenty of time. This is why I included the interlude to the next Piece at the end of this one. What am I talking about?

**Please please please please PLEASE, even if you normally don't review or comment,**_**tell me which world you want the story to go to next**__** in a review if you have something to say or a private message if you have no comment! **_**NO MAKING MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS TO MAKE THE ONE YOU WANT WIN, PLEASE. (If you do, then DAMN, you're sad to care THAT much about a fanfic, though I'll be flattered X3; )**

When I'm ready to count the votes, I'll put a note here saying the booths are closed and whatever choice got most of the votes will be chosen. So check here before voting! That said, **here are the choices!**

** A: Devil's Bayou**

** B: Paris, France**

Paris, France is the world of _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_, and was included last time. It is also going to be done in the upcoming game, _Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance_. The story will largely follow the way things went the last time around in the first Puzzle of Truth, but since they haven't joined the party, a certain character will not be around...at first. Sadly, I don't know if I can figure out a way to make Quasi a party member (though if I can, I most certainly will), given how most of the time, he's confined to the bell tower where he has miraculously not gone deaf. That said, Phoebus comes in too late to really be party member material, and Esmerelda can't fight. She's a spunky lass, that's for sure, but...Well, I'll burn this bridge when I get to it.

Devil's Bayou is an _all-new world_, and is the world of (I hate to spoil it right away, but) _The Rescuers_. I can't tell you much, but if you can guess something right about how it will be done, I'll tell you if you're right or not. That said, I'd better find a way to review the movie, even though I saw it relatively recently (well, a couple years ago). Fun Fact: At first, I was considering this for Ash until I saw something that would work better with Maru and decided to switch Sherwood Forest with this. (Though, _damn,_ Sherwood was fun to do with Maru as a cat. Not like I really remembered it the whole way through...)

Okay, that all said, I'm saying this now: I'm going to update with Ash's story next no matter what. He's had a full day (Maru's party will rest while Maru decides which world to go to because _it's been a really long day for everyone_ and I wanna give 'em a _real_ break) and he's Made of Iron. (Speaking of, if someone started up a TV Tropes trope page for this fic, I'd be _ecstatic_. Just...they'd have to actually tell me because I've blocked TV Tropes from myself to increase my productivity. No, I'm not kidding.) Besides, we've had enough of Maru for a while, haven't we? Isn't this fic supposed to be about more than just him? Heck, speaking of, what happened to those stupid cheerleaders I love so much? Later on them, but you catch my drift.

Anyway, I should finish this up. Hope to see y'all soon with Ash's story (FINALLY) begun, and sorry for the super-long chapter again!

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

**Maru: ***while brushing teeth on the Gummi Ship that night, thinking* They made me smile just to make me feel better or something, didn't they? This ship isn't powered by smiles. Peh. I don't smile. I never smiled before...not really, that is.

**FT: ***pops head down from ceiling* Then explain this. *holds out a promo card—not a TCG card, just a promo card—for the first movie*

**Maru: ***starts, then anger-veins at the author barging in on him and grabs the card. He looks at it and pales, freezing mid-brush for a moment. He spits out what he has in his mouth before speaking.* That's not a smile...that's a creeper face. I was young and foolish for the cameras.

*On the card is an image of him as Mewtwo, as he was back in the first movie, laughing in a very awkward position. It looks quite creepy.*

* * *

><p>Not a great omake, but...really, if I could find that card somewhere, I'd write out a pseudo-link for you guys. Now, then, just another thing: <em>It's Labor Day Weekend. That's why I posted TWO chapters at once. This will not be a regular happening.<em> Just had to make that clear. Hope to update again soon, though!

Edit: How did a couple of recieve notifications make their way down here?...


	6. A03: A Date with Destiny Islands

bit again

In a metal-tiled, stone-walled arcade, two people sat in black comfortable chairs, talking to each other. The muted sunlight outside filtered through the wide windows in the outer curve of the arcade.

"So I heard there's a new girl joining us?"

"Yeah, and I wish they'd hurry up and train her, already."

Lean. "What's she like? Can ya tell me?"

"Not really...though..." A pause, then whispers. "...I'm willing to play 20 Questions if you promise not to tell anyone."

Jerk back. _"You?_ Really?"

"For once, yeah. And first question's answer is animal."

Lean again. "Wow, things _are_ getting crazy...Okay, is she young?"

"Yes."

"Did she come from the same world as one of the others'?"

"...Yes."

Smirk. "Is she hu—"

Suddenly, a figure in a mantle swept past them, going so close that it brushed the mantle right over them, interrupting them. "Quit faffing around and do something constructive, you two," it spat in a cold, edgy voice as it went by and out an intricate, futuristic-looking sliding door with many moving parts.

A pause. Cross arms. "...I hate him. Have I mentioned that lately?"

"Me too, because now I don't feel like playing anymore."

Groan. "Psh...'Toxic Killjoy', indeed...Ass..."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Interlude<strong>_

_Falling..._

_'...Mew...'_

_Memories..._

_'...Articuno...Zapdos...Moltres...Lugia...'_

_Darkness..._

_'...The Unown...Entei...'_

_Wishes..._

_'...Celebi...'_

_Hopes..._

_'...Latias...Latios...'_

_Pain..._

_'...Jirachi...'_

_Friends..._

_'...Deoxys...Rayquaza...'_

_Dreams..._

_'...Manaphy...'_

_Fears..._

_'...Lucario...'_

_Worries..._

_'...Dialga...Palkia...Darkrai...'_

_Ideals..._

_'...Giratina...Shaymin...Arce...us...'_

_Truths..._

_'...Mew...two...'_

_Light..._

_'...Pi...P...'_

_Falling..._

"Uuuuuhhhhnn..." A young black-haired boy slowly opened his eyes, feeling totally wiped. He saw he was on a bed in a shack somewhere. He heard the ocean nearby. He blinked a few times, trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, his brown eyes shot wide open and he sat up straight. _"PIKACHU!"_ Ash Ketchum cried, and he threw off the covers. He was in nothing but his shirt and jeans. He found his shoes, socks, gloves, vest, hat, and trusty backpack, all intact, then raced out the door. _"PIKA—_huh?" He stopped as he saw a beach. To his right was a green area with a pool of water. He blinked. "What...Where...where am I?" he asked nobody confused.

_"'Eey! Watch out!"_ called a sort of Jamaican-accented voice.

"Huh?" Ash turned to look, finally focusing on finer details, and found a ball coming up and kissing his face. _"YOW!"_ He fell back a little from the force and stumbled back to the wall of the shack, holding his nose.

"Heheheh! I _told_ ya to watch out, man!" laughed the voice again. Ash opened his eyes and looked down the beach. A boy with orange hair that looked sort of like the tip of a soft serve stood grinning at him. "Welcome to the Destiny Islands!" he greeted, holding his blue and white ball.

Ash blinked. "Wh...Where?" he asked. "I was...I was just in a place called Nightsky City! And...and..." he trailed off, seeing the look of loss on the other boy's face.

The other boy sighed and shrugged. "Sorry," he said, "we just found you washed up on the beach night before last, man. We dunno where you be from."

Ash gaped, then narrowed his eyes, shook his head and looked around. "Have you seen a pikachu around here, by any chance?" he wondered.

The other boy gave a quizzical look. "Uh...bless you?"

"Sorry—a _pi-ka-chu,"_ he repeated slowly, pronouncing each syllable so that it didn't sound like a sneeze. (It was an understandably common mistake, especially in regions where pikachu weren't all that abundant.)

The other boy's look got more quizzical. "Aaahhh...I never heard of a pikachu," he said slowly, sounding like he wondered if he'd hit Ash too hard.

Ash blinked his eyes wide. _"What?"_ He shook his head. "Are you kidding me?" 'Sure, they're pretty much nowhere around Unova, but surely—?' He was about to say something else when he gasped and put his hand to his belt. His heart froze as he patted his belt all around. Without warning, he raced back into the shack.

The orange-haired kid blinked in confusion. "Uuuuuuh...ooooo_kaaaayyyy..._" He turned and walked off, shrugging.

Ash, meanwhile, was tearing through the inside of the shack. He had quickly looked everywhere. All he found was dust. A look of pure, horrified shock spread on his face as he fell to his knees. "My...My pokémon..." he whispered, staring at the woodwork in the floor, realizing that he was alone in a strange place. "They're gone...Pikachu, too...And I don't know where I am...where my friends are...or what the heck happened last night...or _whenever_ that happened..." Tears fell from his eyes and stained the wood. After a moment, he began to cry, banging his fist on the floor.

**Piece 3: Destiny Islands**

A while later, Ash stood up, bearing it. He looked around. The fairly small shack looked very spartan, having only a makeshift bed (a couple logs tied together with a cot atop it, a blanket and pillow on that), a large, open, empty crate, and a window looking out at the sea. For some reason, a green, glowing disc sat in the corner; when Ash stepped on it, he felt physically revitalized. Wooden stairs went up to an alcove with a door. Ash sighed, then turned and walked out the door.

The ocean scene met him once more as he stood on the small bluff behind the shack. He was staring directly at a wooden bridge to an islet with a few palm trees. One bent way over and looked good for sitting on. A palm tree stood on either side of him now. He swung himself down off the bluff onto the beach close below. After landing, he walked along the sand, looking about him.

"Destiny Islands," he muttered. "Dunno where _that _is, but at least the weather's nice..." He wondered if he'd picked up a map recently and opened his backpack. He gasped when he saw that he only had his sleeping bag and changes of underwear with him. Nothing else. He gaped, then sighed and put the pack back on and reached into his pocket to take out his badge case. With an immense sigh of relief, he found that his badges, at least, were safe and sound. "Well, every cloud has a silver lining," he muttered, putting it away. He then remembered his trusty pokédex and reached for it. He paled when he found he was without that, too. "Oh, _great_, all I have is my sleeping bag, some underwear, and my badges?" he complained, then groaned and hung his arms low in defeat. "How can things get any worse...?" he asked.

His answer was a slam on the head, and he stumbled back a bit, then regained his balance. He anger-veined when he saw the blue ball again. _"HEY! COWLIP KID!"_ he roared as the orange-haired boy came from behind a rock to retrieve his ball. _"Watch where you're aimin' that thing, already!"_

The kid sweatdropped. "Hey, hey, it wasn't all my fault," he defended himself, holding up his hands. "It bounced. And the name's Wakka, not 'Cowlip Kid.' How old _are_ you, anyway?"

Ash hesitated a second—Wakka seemed a bit older than he was—then sighed and picked up the ball. "Sorry, I'm in a bad mood," he told Wakka, walking the ball over to him. "I'm in a place I've never been before, I've got no idea where my friends are, and all I've got with me are my clothes, badges, backpack, sleeping bag, and spare underwear. You'd be in a bad mood, too."

Wakka smiled sympathetically. "You musta gotten into a real bad storm or something," he guessed, receiving his ball. "You musta been separated from your pals and your stuff musta washed away."

"A storm..." Ash looked down, sad-faced. "I _guess_ that's a good way of putting it," he mumbled, remembering the experience. He walked past Wakka. "I'm going to just look around this place for a bit," he said, and went off.

Ash looked as he walked. It appeared to be a camp of sorts. There was a dock, a treehouse system, and a few other kids playing in the sand. "Wow, nice place," he commented to nobody.

"Yeah," Wakka agreed happily, walking up beside him. "It's our home away from home, and it's great!" He grinned and ran over to the other kids. "'Ey, guys! The kid who washed up yesterday didn't go in his sleep, after all!" he called as he ran over.

Ash sweatdropped at this, then walked forwards over to the crowd. The other ones stopped playing and came over to investigate. A blonde-haired kid with a long, red stick came up, looking him over. "How're you feeling?" he asked him in a young, energetic voice.

Ash made a small smile, his emotions not allowing him to do much else. "Fine," he half-lied.

A young, brown-haired girl with a jumprope came over and put her hands behind her back. "What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Ash Ketchum," he answered.

The girl grinned back. "That's a nice name!" she said. "I'm Selphie."

"I'm Tidus!" the stick-holding boy introduced.

Wakka laughed and held a hand up. "You already know who I am," he said.

Ash nodded. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"Where are you from?" asked another boy. Ash looked and saw a teenager wearing black shorts with big red pockets, a black short-sleeve hoodie jacket with metal pauldrons, a pair of gloves, and a chain around his neck bearing a crown-like pendant. He had blue, alive eyes and spikey, brown hair. He also wore _big_ yellow and black shoes.

Ash answered, "Pallet Town," and wasn't all that surprised when a look of confusion registered on every face around him. "In the Kanto region?" he tried, holding his hands up a bit. Nothing. He blinked. "Sheesh, am I even on the same _planet_ as Japan, anymore?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Well, yeah," answered another boy. He had on a white and yellow vest, a zip-up black tank, baggy blue jeans, a flexible white cast over his left wrist, and black boots more normal-sized than his friend's. His hair was silvery white, long, and down in thin spikes. His eyes were blue, as well. He carried a 'badass' vibe around him. He crossed his arms. "You ain't nowhere near Kanto, though."

Ash screwed up his eyebrows a little and tilted his head, baffled and becoming more worried by the minute. "Uhm...What region _am_ I in, then?" he asked.

The other girl there giggled and came over. She had a white and pink tanktop with many zippers, bracelets on one wrist, a black side purse around her waist, pink high-top shoes, and long redhead hair. She had cute blue eyes, too. "Just plain ol' Destiny Islands," she answered.

Ash gaped. "Then..." He suddenly tried something, clenching his fists. "You guys've heard of pokémon, right?" he checked, looking at each of them in turn. His worry was rising to panic.

Everyone gave him looks of confusion. That was all the proof his heart needed to freeze into a solid block of ice. He gawked in shock. 'I...'

"No...No way..." He looked down at the sand. "This...I...But...How..."

'...I'm not in Unova anymore...or even...'

"Ash?" The trainer looked up and saw the brown-haired boy come over, a dutiful expression on his face. "I think we can explain." He looked to Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. "You guys hang out on your own," he told them. "We'd like to talk to Ash alone."

The three made sounds of agreement, then went back to playing. Ash noticed that by "playing," I mean "fighting." Selphie was using her jumprope like a whip, Tidus used his stick like a sword, and Wakka used his ball by throwing it at them or bashing them with it in his arm. Ash was tugged by his own arm, and he turned to see the brown-haired kid motioning to go. He walked off with them.

They went to the little island with the bent tree. It had a beautiful view of the ocean. Standing under the shade of one palm tree, Ash noticed the bent one bore a large, yellow, star-shaped fruit. 'Wonder what kinda berry that—oh. Yeah. No pokémon world. Or I'm in the past again...'

"Ash." He turned to face the three.

"What?" he asked a little quickly. "What do you guys want?" He clenched his fists, slightly on edge.

The brown-haired boy came forward. "First off, let's get our names out," he smiled. He put a fist to his chest. "I'm Sora."

"Riku," said the white-haired boy.

The girl nodded. "My name's Kairi."

Ash nodded politely. "Nice to meet you," he returned. He looked at Sora. "What is it?"

Sora sighed and looked at him. "You've probably noticed that we look a little...different from you," he guessed, gesturing towards himself, then to Ash. Ash started a little. Sora smiled sympathetically. "And I bet you've also realized that this isn't the place you remember, not in any way at all."

Ash nodded slowly, narrowing his eyebrows a bit. "Where the heck _am_ I, then?" he demanded.

"In a different world." Riku stepped forward, crossing his arms. "You're inside a completely different world, a whole other reality," he explained. "There's no such thing as...'pokémon' here."

Ash widened his eyes. "Another world?" he muttered. He frowned and held his chin, turning away from the trio. "This has gotta be, like, the third or fourth time, at _least_, not counting dreams," he mumbled, "but this time sure takes the cake..."

"Huh?" Riku blinked. "What're you saying?"

Ash turned back, shaking his head. "Are there at least, umm...like, strange creatures?" he asked, holding his hands up to gesticulate. "Like, things—like dragony things or animals or big bugs or moving plants—that breathe fire, or launch leaves, or shoot electricity, or maybe squirt a lot of water, and it looks like it's all natural? Something like that?"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi exchanged eyebrow raises. "Ummm...the only thing we got here is normal animals and plants," Sora replied slowly, smiling helplessly.

Ash gaped at him. "No...No pokémon?" he repeated breathlessly, shock filling him. "None at _all?..._Pikachu...no..." He looked down slowly, realizing what horrible things this new world might have in store for him and, wherever they were, his pokémon and friends.

"I'm sorry, Ash," Kairi sighed, and he looked up at her. She had a truly sympathetic face on her. "We _all_ are. And we all understand—all too well—the feeling of suddenly being in another world, not a friend in sight, no familiar things around at all." She looked down a little, herself, as she remembered her own experiences.

Sora crossed his arms and frowned a bit worriedly. "Ash, what happened last? Do you remember?"

Ash looked at him and nodded. "Yeah...though I kinda wish I didn't." He closed his eyes as the images flashed by his memory. "First, I was in a place called Nightsky City, during this huge, all-city party that was so thick, we couldn't get out. Me and my friends Brock, Cilan, Iris, and Pikachu were with this one guy named Maru." 'Though I still doubt he's not exactly who he says he is...' "We had just gotten out of the center—er, a Pokémon Center's like a free hospital for pokémon—when Maru and Pikachu looked up, looking really tense."

He clenched his fists tight as he remembered. "Soon, these weird black things started appearing after the lights all went out. Pikachu could use his Electric attacks and fend them off, but Maru, using this old wooden cane, couldn't. Not until he began kicking them, at least. A few of the people in the crowd, which was getting smaller because those black things were making people vanish, could somehow whack them away, too...I think they were from this one little fighting tournament they had that Maru won," he remembered, tilting his head a bit.

"Then, I got my other pokémon out and told them to use their attacks to destroy any of the black things that tried to fight us. Cilan, Iris, and Brock did the same. We kept running, trying to find a way out, but we ended up on this stage they had there. By then, we had to recall our pokémon because they were getting tired, and Maru and Pikachu looked tired, too. I think during this, Maru said that the black things were stealing peoples' hearts." In front of him, Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at each other and nodded, though Ash didn't see since he still had his eyes shut. He clenched them tighter. "Then this black goo, like quicksand or something, sucked me, Cilan, Iris, and Brock up. We tried to blast it off with one of our pokémon's attacks, but some goo interrupted it. If only I'd thought of it sooner—!" He sighed and shook his head in frustration.

"The last thing I remember seeing was Pikachu and Maru looking at me in horror, and my hand reaching for them. Then it was all black...Wait!" He whipped his head up, eyes flying open and spraying a few tears. "I remember, I had this weird nightmare that I was falling down, and I remembered all the special pokémon I've met, and then there was this weird light!" He shook his head and looked down. "But then I woke up, and was in that shack I guess you guys put me in. That's all I remember." He looked up and at Sora. "What the heck _were_ those things that separated me from Pikachu and my friends?" he demanded to know.

Sora nodded, crossing his arms. "Those things are called Heartless," he explained. "What probably happened afterward was Maru and Pikachu got sucked up, too, either by that goo you were talking about—that _I've_ never heard of or experienced—or by a big, black ball in the sky that probably appeared a while later." He had looked serious until now, but he softened his face. "Don't worry—if they defended themselves until the ball sucks them up, they'll be fine," he assured Ash. "That's what happened to me."

Ash gasped. _"What?_ But...isn't this your home?" he asked, arms out to indicate his surroundings.

Sora nodded. "Yeah, it is," he confirmed, then chuckled. "It's a very long story."

"But now," Riku continued, "you're alone, without your friends. They might even be in a different world entirely. Where, though, I don't know." He shook his head, looking away. "They might have been taken by the Heartless, or they're being held somewhere, or they're safe and sound someplace. Just hope it isn't the first thing."

Ash looked horrified. "What do the Heartless _do?"_ he wondered. "Do they really steal peoples'...hearts?"

Sora nodded. "Yeah," he answered, "and when that happens, the person who lost their heart becomes a Heartless, too. If their heart was strong when they lost it, their bodies are left behind as empty shells, called Nobodies. They're between the light and the dark, in the twilight, and hated by those from both sides, I think." He shrugged. "It's complicated."

"To put it lightly," mused Riku, smirking.

"But not all Nobodies are bad," piped up Kairi. Ash turned to her. "Some actually turn out to be nice. For instance, both me and Sora lost our hearts once." Ash gawked, and Kairi laughed a little. "Don't worry, we're not Heartless," she assured him, "although there _can_ be human-like Heartless, just like there can be human-like Nobodies. But when both me and Sora lost our hearts, we generated Nobodies, who both ended up being good in the end."

Ash nodded, then crossed his arms and dropped his head as he thought. "So...the Heartless steal peoples' hearts, which makes them become Heartless, and sometimes they make Nobodies," he reviewed. He looked up. "Is that it?" he asked.

The three shook their heads. "Oh, no," Sora replied, laughing mirthlessly. "Turns out that _worlds_ have hearts, too.". He smiled sympathetically at Ash's surprised (and somewhat exasperated) face. "Yeah, surprised me, too, when I found out," he nodded. "How can the place you live have its own heart? Well, it does, and they're pretty big. The Heartless are attracted to big hearts, and the bigger, the better. They probably went to your world for its heart. Though..." He crossed his arms and bowed his own head, thinking. "That sounded pretty catastrophic, there, and Heartless generally don't take a world as soon as they find it. It usually takes some time before things get bad. They must have found the heart of your world _really_ fast..."

Ash frowned. "What happens when the heart of a world is taken?" he asked. "What if there are still people on there?"

"They get taken away," Riku answered. "Not necessarily their hearts, but themselves. There's a place known as Traverse Town that people who've lost their worlds live. Although, last we checked, another place known as Radiant Garden is becoming a place where people occasionally end up." He smiled. "If your friends are in either world, they're safe, don't worry."

Ash gulped. "I hope so," he mumbled. He sighed. "So...my world's probably...gone, now...huh..." he asked weakly. He got three solemn nods in answer. He whimpered. "Great, now I don't even have a home to _find!"_ he griped, and slammed his fist on the tree behind him.

Kairi, though not quite happy with his somewhat childish behavior, smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, someone might be able to restore it," she told him. "Sora restored our world."

Ash opened his eyes. "Huh?" He whipped to look at Sora. _"HOW?" _he demanded. He clenched his fists and brought them up a little. "Maybe I can do the same thing and bring back my world! Would that bring back the people who were lost?" he asked.

Sora blinked. "Yeah, but...um..." He hid a smile. "How old are you, again?"

Ash looked away and down. 'Like they'll take me seriously if I tell them I'm...but I can't evade it forever...' "...Ten."

Sora raised his eyebrows, then laughed. _"Wo-h-how,_ man...Sorry, that's just kinda funny!" he apologized. Ash growled and raised his shoulders, about to shout, so Sora quickly continued, "Th-That is, unless you're very special." He tilted his head a bit. "Saving your world _would _bring back anyone lost, I think. And sorry that I laughed at you," he added, looking sheepish, glancing at Kairi just as she gave him a smack on the head with a disapproving pout.

"Fifteen and you can _still _act like you're younger than him," Kairi disparaged, hands on hips.

Sora rubbed the back of his head where he was hit, grinning sheepishly, and looked at Ash again. "It's just that there aren't many people who can use the weapon that's needed to save worlds."

"Weapon?" Ash repeated, looking up in interest.

Sora smiled, nodded to his friends, and in unison, all three whipped their hands out. In flashes of light, three Keyblades appeared in them. Kairi's was delicate and flower-themed, Riku's was sort of like a bat's wing and really darkness-themed, and Sora's was extraordinarily plain, being silver, yellow-cross guarded, and bearing a blue rain guard. Ash had shielded his face from the sudden glare, but when he brought his arm down, he gasped in amazement and surprise.

_"WWOOOOOAAAAHHH!"_ he cried. "What the—!"

Sora grinned and spun his around, resting it on his shoulder. _"These_ are the kind of weapon I'm talking about," he said. "They're called Keyblades, for pretty obvious reasons." He held his out so Ash could see better. The wannabe-pokémon master looked in awe at it. "They're given only to special people, who are in fact chosen by the weapons," Sora explained. He smiled faintly. "When my world was being attacked, I got mine. I dunno how Riku got his, although I _do_ know that he was the one who was _supposed_ to get the Keyblade." He sniggered. "Too bad he let himself get lured in by the darkness," he commented, giving a sideways glance to his friend.

Riku chuckled. "Yeah, well, at least I wasn't duped into following a stranger in a _hooded, black trenchcoat _to a _really weird castle _and end up _losing my memories," _he countered with a smirk.

Sora widened his eyes, then looked down in embarrassed shame, then looked up and defended, "W-Well, c'mon! Gimme a break! It was our best lead at the time!" waving his hands. Riku and Kairi chuckled.

Riku held up his Keyblade. "Soul Eater changed when I was on my own sort of journey after Sora saved our world. And I gave Kairi hers." And he said nothing about where he got it.

Kairi grinned sheepishly. "Truth be told, I don't know much about swordfighting," she confessed. "I just got this because I wanted to help out as much as I could at the time."

"She ain't too shabby with it, either, after living with us two for so long," added Sora, smirking appreciatively at his friend.

Ash smiled. "It's always good to want to help people out, even if you know you wouldn't be that much of a help," he asserted, making his signature expression as he held up his fist. "At least you were able to help, so be proud of that."

Kairi grinned. "I am!"

Sora raised an eyebrow, dismissing his Keyblade. The others did, too. "Ash? I thought you were all down and stuff a second ago, and now you're giving advice like you were happy again."

Ash sighed, his smile fading, and dropped his fist a little. "Well, I _do _miss my friends a lot," he admitted, and paused. He lifted his head and fist again, though, his face back on. "But, as much as I want to, I can't do anything if I just stand here and cry. The best thing I can do now is to keep my chin up and never quit!" He nodded at his words. "I've learned that through my journey: No matter what happens, never stop trying. Even if you know you're going to lose, it's better to give it your all than to let yourself lose. Because, well, you never know..." He chuckled and thumbed his nose. "You just might win!"

Sora grinned and nodded. "You're right, Ash," he agreed. "And I hope that you can keep going with that spirit, because it's no good if you give in to despair. Just keep goin'." He smiled and looked at the waves for a second, reminiscing. "Anyway, Ash," he continued, getting back on topic, "these Keyblades are able to do many things, and if you get one, that's a surefire chance to save your world. It's just that, well, only certain people can get one. They're kinda picky. I couldn't just _give_ you mine, for instance," he added, summoning Kingdom Key once more. He held it out. "Take it and watch what happens."

Ash came over and, a look of interest on his face, did as he was told. He held it up and looked at it for a second, feeling the weight, until the weapon disappeared in a flash of light. "What?" he gasped.

The Keyblade reappeared in Sora's hand, and he laughed. "See? Two people have already tried to take it from me," he said, "and both times, it came back to me. Only once, when Riku took it, did it go away for good, and I was left with my toy sword." He dismissed his familiar weapon again.

"And, by the way, the Heartless are immune to both toy weapons and normal fighting, like with your hands and feet, unless you know what you're doing," he went on. "That's probably why Maru, holding that cane, didn't do anything. He wasn't holding a real weapon. If he even held a puny knife, it would've worked. I mean, like, a pocketknife or something, not an eating knife!" he laughed. "Oh, _wow_, that's a funny thought—using utensils as weapons! I can see it now: Waves of Heartless getting beaten to a pulp by a guy wielding an enormous _spoon_ or something!"

Ash blinked, then got the image and laughed, too. _"That_ would be funny!"

Riku just shook his head into his hand, a smile on his face, and Kairi laughed along with. He sighed as the laughter faded. "Look, let's get to the point," he said, and put a hand to his hip. "Ash, you're in a different world, with no friends in sight or way to get back. Unless we can get a Gummi Ship here or something, chances are you're stuck here..." He paused for a moment, frowning in thought, before continuing. "...So, sorry, but you're going to have to cope for a while. That alright?"

Ash looked up at Riku, frowned a little at the reminder of his plight, then nodded. "Yeah, I will," he replied. "I hope. I'm just so worried about my friends..." He sighed, then smiled. "But I'll just have to keep holding on to the thought that they may be okay." He tilted his head. "Am I going to stay here on the island, or is there another place you want me to stay?" he asked. "I mean, I _have_ a sleeping bag, and there's a bed in that shack." His stomach gurgled just then, and he sweatdropped and smiled sheepishly. "I didn't see any food in there, though," he confessed.

Sora and co. looked at each other, smiling, then at Ash again. "Well, don't worry, we've got food here," said the brown-haired Keyblader. "And we'll work out where you'll be staying for the night later. For now, you can go to the shack and hang out."

Ash nodded and smiled. "Alright," he said. "Now, ah..." He blushed a little. "Can I have some of that food?"

Sora and the others laughed, then started to lead him to where he could eat.

Riku hung back with Sora while Kairi talked with Ash about the island. "Speaking of Gummi Ships, where's ours?" he asked in an undertone, serious.

Sora shrugged, serious as well. "I have no idea," he replied. "It doesn't make any sense...I thought they'd be here by now. And we can't figure out any other way out, either," he added.

Riku looked away. "Since I lost my ability to open dark corridors, yeah, we're pretty much stuck until our ride comes to pick us up," he agreed bitterly. "But..." He pulled out a letter from his pocket and looked at it. "Why would he just...?"

"Something a little fishy's going on here," Sora frowned, crossing his arms. "And I don't mean the fish."

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

After having some lunch and using the bathroom, Ash wandered around, exploring the island. He soon circumnavigated it, and found himself back at the beach that the others 'played' at. He found Sora and Riku there, fighting with wooden swords. Kairi sat on the wall and watched. Ash joined her. "Hey."

"Hey," she greeted back. She turned to the fight again. "Those two sure keep their skills sharp," she commented. "They just come back from one huge adventure, Riku even gets pretty banged up, and they're _still _both goin' pretty hard. Barely took the time to rest."

Ash watched, raising an eyebrow at the swordfighting. "Wow, they're good," he complimented.

Kairi smirked. "Well, they _are_ both chosen by the Keyblade," she reminded him. "I'm just able to use it, but they're able to use it _well."_ She looked back at them. "It's been about a _week_ since we got back from our big adventure, but they're still swinging swords around, despite having spent what must have felt like a lifetime fighting off Heartless and Nobodies—mostly Heartless."

She sighed and leaned back a little, looking at the sky. "You know," she said, "if I wasn't the damsel in distress both times through, I bet I'd've had a bunch of fun on that adventure. You really don't know how exciting it is to visit other worlds like they do..." She leaned forwards again. "But those two do, especially Sora. He got to meet lots of new friends, do lots of cool things, and even got to fly a spaceship!"

"A spaceship?" Ash repeated. His eyebrows shot up.

Kairi nodded, smiling and looking at Ash. "Yeah, it's called the Gummi Ship," she explained, "and it's able to go between worlds. It's better than the way the Heartless go. They're supposed to use these weird tunnels of darkness that connect each world together. They're said to be very dangerous, but the Heartless can go through like it's nothing." She sighed and shook her head. "But, hey, that's them. Sora got to go through using an awesome spaceship, his two partners that he picked up on his journey helping out. It sounds so _exciting...!"_ She laughed somewhat mirthlessly. "But then, well, I should be careful what I wish for, since I may just end up getting captured again if I wish to go on my own journey too hard."

Ash smiled. "I'm already on my own journey," he thumbed himself. "It's a journey to become a Pokémon Master, the greatest Trainer ever!" He gave his determined expression again. "In my world, there are creatures known as pokémon, which are basically animals that are able to do cool stuff, like my best friend, Pikachu. It can squeeze its cheeks, which have special pouches in them, and send out bolts of electricity!" He smiled proudly. "It and I have been through thick and thin together. At first, it didn't really like me, but after I defended it from a bunch of spearow, well, we've been buddies ever since!" He grinned and reflexively looked to his side—and saw nothing. His smile fell, and he sighed. "I really miss it..."

Kairi put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her smile. "Don't worry," she bade. "I promise, you'll see Pikachu again. It's bound to happen."

Ash smiled and nodded. "You're right." He sighed and looked back at Sora and Riku sparring. They watched for a while, then Ash began to feel interested. He looked at them, brain working. "You know," he said, "Trainers are people who capture and train wild pokémon to fight other Trainers' pokémon. It's pretty hard, but fun, too. I like it. For me, the key is finding the true strength within each pokémon and commanding them in battle in a way that best suits them. For instance, I used Pikachu a lot for its speed." He pointed to the friends/rivals below. "But something like swordfighting...That's different. You have to know how to basically command _yourself_, and you _know_ that you're gonna get hurt. I always try to keep my pokémon from getting hurt, of course, but it's still not quite the same as myself getting hurt."

He put his hand back and propped his chin up as he watched. "But still, after watching Maru fight in that tournament with all the other different fighters, and watching these two, I'm kinda thinkin' this actually looks pretty fun. I've done all sorts of things, but always with my pokémon. _Alone,_ though..."

Kairi smirked wryly, yet thoughtfully, raising an eyebrow. "I swear, this island just makes boys wanna beat each other up," she joked. "Go ahead and give it a shot. We just do it for fun, here—well, _they_ do. I prefer to sit back and watch. But if you want to try your hand at it, don't be scared!" She chuckled and smiled fully. "Those guys would be glad to have someone else to fight if you've got a knack for it enough!"

Ash smiled and nodded. "Yeah, besides, I enjoy doing new things!" he said. He took off his backpack and hopped down.

Kairi watched him trot over the sand. "...You know, I should probably train myself, too," she muttered. "Now that I, y'know, have a _Keyblade _and all..."

Sora and Riku, noticing him going towards them, stopped fighting. "Hey, guys!" Ash called, waving a hand. "Could I try?" he asked.

Sora and Riku raised their eyebrows, then smirked a little cockily. "You sure?" Riku asked.

"We do things a little rough," Sora warned the Trainer.

Ash stopped, getting to them. "Yeah, but I like a challenge," he argued, grinning. "Just give me a wooden sword and I'll see how I do!"

Sora and Riku looked at each other, exchanging eyebrows, then shrugged. "Alright," Sora warned, "you asked for it." He looked at Riku again. "Who's the executioner, you or me?"

Riku tossed his sword to Ash, who fumbled and didn't quite catch it. He rolled his eyes. "You," he replied. He went to stand at the wall.

Ash picked up the weapon and held it, brushing it off and looking at Sora. "Just you and me, huh?"

Sora grinned. "Looks like." He got into position. "Get ready!"

Ash nodded and held his sword ready, in both hands, and up, sort of like a baseball bat. "Ready!" he said.

"Then let's _go!"_ Sora cried, and ran forward, sword pointing at Ash.

Ash gulped and swung as Sora got nearer. He missed, and was brutally comboed by the expert Keyblader. He blinked a second later, seeing blue sky. "Ow," he said, sounding surprised. "Okay, that wasn't a _big _surprise, but still..." He got up and back into pose. Sora kindly waited for him to get ready, and even stood still while Ash charged and swung again.

Sora nimbly dodged it and whacked him from behind. Ash fell face-first into the sand, then got up again and charged again. "Remember to keep your legs bent a bit," Sora told him. "And look where you're going to swing!"

Ash growled, "I know!" as he missed again, and this time, he turned to face Sora before he got hit. He tried raising his sword up to block, but was too slow. "Ow! That actually hurts for a toy," he muttered.

Riku scoffed. "If you think _this_ hurts, then you're not meant for real fighting," he called over to the Trainer. "Be a man and bear it!"

Ash growled at him, but got hit during his distraction. "Hey! I wasn't looking!" he protested.

Sora looked at him with a serious—but still well-meant—look. "Never let yourself get distracted," he advised him, "because in a fight, your opponent will use _every_ opportunity to defeat you."

Ash gritted his teeth and was able to block a hit. "I've just gotta get focused," he muttered. "Just gotta imagine that I'm in place of one of my pokémon in a battle, but with swords..." He was struck down again, but he paused before getting up. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and set his mind to being focused. Ready, Ash turned and faced Sora. He had stopped holding his sword like a baseball bat, since he didn't want to waste the prewind if he had to block. Instead, he held it with both hands, holding it out to his left while he stood sideways with his left foot forward, resembling a Kendo practitioner, if more loose and relaxed. He placed his legs a bit apart and crouched a little. After a moment, he charged forward.

Sora grinned and went forward, too. The two met in a clash. He took his sword away quickly and tried another strike. Ash barely blocked in time. He struck and hit wood again. Then he tried a stab. Ash was a little slow, and unsure how to parry a stab, and thus got hit. _"OOF!"_ he went, holding his stomach, then growled and tried attacking again. The pain caused him to become reckless again, as well as slower.

After a few more minutes of getting beaten up, Ash said to stop, panting and feeling sore all over. "Okay...I give up," he breathed, leaning on his sword a little. "Uncle...Owch..."

Sora sighed and walked over. "Well, sorry, Ash, but you asked for it," he told him. "Maybe swordfighting just isn't your thing."

Ash gave a weak grin up at him. "I just haven't gotten in as much practice as you have, that's all," he reasoned. "I'm used to being able to see what my opponent is doing entirely, not so close up." He gave his sword to him and stood up. "I guess I'm going to have to learn how to analyze a situation when it's me on the _field_ and not the Trainer's box." He smiled and went to sit by Kairi again.

Kairi looked him up and down, concerned. "Wow, I didn't think Sora would do that to you," she muttered, a little shocked. "I thought he'd be nice enough to teach you. Maybe he's just in one of those moods..."

Ash, bruised and beaten all over, just gave a little smile. "That's alright," he dismissed it. "I'm fine. At least he didn't try any really dirty tricks."

"Ash!"

Ash looked down and saw Sora smiling at him. "What?"

Sora grinned. "If you want, I can go easy on you tomorrow so that you get used to swordfighting," he offered.

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked.

Sora smiled and nodded. "Yeah, if you really want to," he said. "I'm sorry I went so rough, but I had a feeling that you wanted to know how to swordfight because you wanted a Keyblade."

Ash sweatdropped, making the "uh-oh" face, then sighed in defeat. He smiled and lifted his hands. "You got me. True, I did want to do this because it looked fun, but I also really wanted to get a Keyblade," he confessed. He looked a little sad as he explained, "I still want to find my friends, and you said that Keyblades guide you to adventures. I just thought maybe I'd be able to go on one, too, and find my friends."

Sora sighed, lacing his fingers behind his head and slouching. "Even if you could use a Keyblade, and knew how to fight, it's not that easy," he cautioned. "I had to fight hoards of Heartless and seal worlds up before their hearts were stolen." He smiled. "But if you really want to learn swordfighting..."

Ash nodded. "Yeah! I want to get better!" he grinned.

Sora nodded, smiling. "Then you can start training tomorrow, or whenever you feel up to it," he said. "I say tomorrow since, well..." He sweatdropped and grinned sheepishly. "I really did a number on you!" He laughed.

Ash couldn't help but start to laugh, too. "Yeah, I feel like one big bruise!" he agreed. "But I'll be better tomorrow, I swear."

Sora nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that sounds good. Besides, it'll be sunset soon, so that means it's almost time for us to go."

Ash looked up and saw the sun starting to sink low on the horizon. "Yeah, I guess so," he shrugged. Then he looked confused and asked, "Wait, you guys live away from here?"

Kairi nodded. "Yeah, of course," she said. "We go to school and everything, on the mainland."

"Except now, it's summer, so we hang out here," Riku shrugged. "It's pretty fun."

Ash smiled and looked around. "I'm used to lots of forest," he said, "though I've been on my own adventure in the tropics." He then remembered something and gasped. "Hey, you know what?" he asked. "I actually had this one really huge one when I was there. In fact, not to brag or anything, but..." He shrugged and blushed. "I...kinda saved the world."

Riku, Sora, and Kairi gave him skeptical looks. "Oh, really?" asked Riku. "How? What was happening?"

Ash recounted his story about when he was on Shamuti Island and met Lugia. "...And do you know why I went through all that trouble?" he asked.

"Through the good of your heart?" Kairi guessed.

Ash shook his head. "Well, wait, that too," he gave, putting a finger up. "But the reason I did all that was partly because, on this one ancient pedestal, there was this prophecy that ended saying that someone who sounded an awful lot like me would come to make things right." He gave a little laugh. "Turns out I was destined to save the world! Funny, huh?" 'It'd sure explain why I kinda end up doing it a lot...'

Ash didn't sound at all arrogant that he saved the world. He was, thankfully, humble about the whole thing. Sora raised his eyebrows. "Really..." He shrugged. "Well, that's a nice story, but unless you _are_ bragging, why bring it up?"

Ash motioned to the three around. "You guys hold Keyblades, and you said that only certain people can hold them," he reviewed. He smiled and put his hand to his chest. "Maybe, because I'm supposed to be some 'chosen one,' I'm able to use a Keyblade, too!" he suggested, sounding a bit hopeful.

Riku shrugged. "It all matters on what's your heart like," he said. "Not if you're destined to save the world. And besides, if it _is_ destiny, then it's a completely different one. And in my opinion, if you've already got one destiny, that's pretty much it. There's tons more heroic things that people can do, and they should be given a chance." He looked at Sora, then crossed his arms and added, "Well, okay, Sora's saved lots of worlds from the Heartless, but he's a Keyblade wielder. He's kinda supposed to do that. That's an exception, then."

Ash smirked. "Then that would mean that I'm still up for it," he pointed out. "Because if I get a Keyblade, which lets people do more than one big thing, that would include me saving my world from destruction."

Riku raised his eyebrows, then grumbled, "Oh, nevermind!" while the other three laughed.

"But really, Ash," Sora said, "I dunno if that counts towards getting a Keyblade. I mean, I've met a hero who's related to _gods_ in his world, and _he_ didn't get a Keyblade." He shrugged. "It's really luck, I guess. And if you're a good person inside."

Ash smiled. "I try to be nice," he nodded. "I'm not completely worried about that part." He shrugged, though. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

The others nodded, and they all decided to do their own things while the sun was still in the sky. Eventually, though, sunset arrived, and Ash said goodbye to everyone else. He then went to where he was shown the food was and got something to eat for dinner. Sure, it was just a couple sandwiches, but it was something. He then went and turned in for the night. All through that day, although he did his best to not think about it too much, he felt sadness gnawing at his insides, along with worry. Loneliness, however, was beginning to fade.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

"...Mmmm..."

"...ey..."

"...Mmmm...?"

"...Hey...Hey! You _finally _conscious?"

"...Uhhhgh..."

"You alright, there? You really got nailed pretty bad..."

"...Yena?"

Travis sat up, in human form, on a medium-large bed inside a small room with peach walls and a green marble-tiled floor. There were no windows, only a wooden door, a clock reading 7:36, a desk, and a mightyena sitting by his bed...in a chair and wearing brown pants. Travis shook his head, huge mane of long, spiky hair rustling back and forth behind him. "What...Did I have a really wild dream or something?" he wondered, brushing his bangs up.

Yena shook his head. "No, it was all real," he replied in Human, frowning. "Do you know where you are?"

Travis looked sharply at him, eyes wide. "I don't like the way you said that," he mumbled. He suddenly threw off his blanket and got out of bed, standing up in his boxers and looking left and right quickly. "Where are we? What happened to EBA HQ? What happened to home?"

Yena stood up on his hind legs, showing himself to be about as tall as his friend, and put his paws on Travis' shoulders gently, a worried frown on his face. "Trav, please, calm down," he soothed. "We're...We're in another world."

Travis looked over his shoulder at Yena. "Like before?" he asked.

Yena nodded. "Yeah, but this time..." He sighed and lowered his snout. "It's a world with no way back."

Travis paled. "...Yena...What happened?" he whispered.

Yena shook his head and squeezed Travis' shoulders. "Our world disappeared," he answered slowly. "The EBA and Ouendan's, too."

Travis stood still, mouth open in shock. Tears welled up in his eyes. "Disa...ppeared...?" he whimpered. Yena nodded slowly. "Buh...Wuh...That...My...But...I...Buh...Buh..." Travis blubbered before finally breaking down. He turned and hugged Yena tight, letting out a wolf's howl of sorrow.

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

Lessee...Few dialogue edits here and there, changed Sora, Riku, and Kairi's outfits to be their KHII ones since they stayed in them even during the ending of Re:coded, and was gonna add on a whole other part with the cheerers but realized that'd need more space than I have, so I'm moving that to next chapter. **Remember, folks, voting for Maru's next world is **_**still open!**_** Refer to the last chapter's Author's Note for details!**

Okay...How many of you cheered when you saw the story was going back to Ash (or at least when you read that fact in the last Author's Note)?...

I really dunno if I should be submitting this when I'm still working on the next chapter (which is all-new or mostly-all-new (probably just all-new) content!), and since I should be doing homework...I kinda wanna reread this or hold it so I can make any last-minute edits I think of...buuuut...Well, I think the only thing I'm really unsure about is the inside of the shack. I changed it so it's the same as in KHI. I'm assuming it's only been refurbished inside. If I goofed up on the way it looks, tell me how to fix it, seriously!

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

***Wakka is sparring with Tidus, Ash watching from the sidelines.***

**Wakka: **Here I come! *hucks the ball*

**Tidus: ***whacks it away as hard as he can...winding it up in a tree* ...Oops...

**Wakka: **Ah, don't worry, I've got loads. Be right back, man! *jogs off to boats*

***later***

**Wakka: ***comes back with a new ball, blue and white like the last one* Okay, ready!

**Ash: ***pointing at the ball, raising an eyebrow* Those the only kind you have?

**Wakka: **Yeah, why?

**Ash: ***smirking* Heh, you've got—

**Wakka: **_I KNOW I'VE HEARD IT BEFORE AND IT GOT OLD REAL FAST! XC_

**Ash: ***tilts head, lost* Wh..._Huh?_ 'I was _gonna_ say he's got a one-track mind; what did he _think _I was gonna say?...'

* * *

><p>(I was thinking of having him say "one-<em>trackball <em>mind" *ducks*, but I realized he's not _that_ clever.)


	7. EO03: Wannabe Girlfriend Still in Denial

_Note: To see descriptions of each of these characters that aren't described that well, refer to my other fic, "Insert Game Title Here: Gotta Cheer 'em All!". Specific chapters will be ~(noted)~ for each character at the end of the paragraph. For non-OCs, like the original Agents, just look them up online._

_Also: Grab a sammich. This is gonna be a long one._

**~Cheer Base~**

A sliding door opened, and Travis, now in a pair of jeans and a golden yellow tank top, walked in barefoot with his hands in his pockets. Walking with him (still on his hind legs) was Yena. Travis sighed, looking down dejectedly. "It's _gone,"_ he murmured. "It's actually _gone."_ ~_(Trav's desc: Chapter 7: No Sleep Tonight. He's the target that mission.)~_

"Hey, at least we're alive," pointed out a familiar voice. Travis looked up. The room appeared to be a lounge, with a few different couches, some around a coffee table (which also featured cushions) and others facing a huge-screen TV hooked up to a Wii U. The floor was wood-paneled and the walls were wallpapered with a soft yellow floral pattern. Sitting in the couches or kneeling on the cushions were many familiar faces—EBA, Ouendan, Pokédan, and...

"Zante! Vesp!" Travis smiled, trotting happily over to an overweight zangoose with a pecha scarf around his neck and a seviper wrapped happily around his middle sitting in a chair by an empty fireplace. Zante the zangoose held up a paw as he approached. Travis chuckled. "Yeah, you're right," he shrugged.

Zante shrugged. "Well, when yer right, yer right," he smirked in perfect Human.

Vesp the seviper gestured with her tail. "Dinner's been served already," she informed. "It's quarter to eight at night already. You should go to the kitchen and find something to eat, dear."

Zante raised an eyebrow. "I _still _think you sound like an old lady when you say 'dear' like that," he said. Vesp gave him a warning squeeze and he laughed.

Travis smiled. "You two are too weirdly perfect for each other," he observed. He looked around at the rest of the room. "So, we're in a place called Melee Arena, huh? How long was I out?"

"A day and a half, pretty much," answered a large man in a black suit with Kamina-esque shades, long curly black hair, and a black cowboy hat. "For a _werewolf,_ you can sure take a while to get up."

"Agent Chieftain," greeted Travis, turning and bowing to him politely. He blushed. "Sorry about that—I had a long day that day, as you know..."

Chieftain nodded. "Yeah, and you did a great job," he complimented. "Still think your first mission should've been in your own world, but..." he shrugged.

"Hey, blame your boss for that," snarked a young brown-haired man in a half-grey, half-red baseball cap who walked over.

"He's _our _boss, too, y'know," reminded the black-haired, bespectacled man with him, half-eying at him.

"And you'd better keep your tongue in line around me, newbie," Chieftain warned, frowning down at him.

"Chieftain, relax—he's my responsibility, so I'll deal with him later," Travis held up his hands. His stomach gurgled, and he blushed again. "For now, though, um...could you point me towards the kitchen? I'm kinda hungry..."

As Chieftain led Travis to the kitchen, Yena stayed behind with the other two humans. He looked interestedly at them. "So, Frank, Dorian, you guys did your first cheer?" he asked. "And it was in their world, not ours?" _~(Frank and Dorian desc: Chapter 7, but don't expect much)~_

Frank and Dorian nodded, smiling. "Yeah, and we kicked ass!" Frank added, giving a thumbs-up.

"We were quite successful," Dorian shrugged.

Yena smiled, tail wagging. "Didn't hear about this! Couldja tell me how it went?" he asked.

"No, but they could do you one better," answered a young Japanese man in a lengthened gakuran with black hair streaked with red, speaking perfect English. He was kneeling at the table and smiling over at Yena.

"Oh? How so, Kioshi?" asked Dorian, raising an eyebrow.

Kioshi jerked his head to the tv. "The facility here records every cheer we do and we can review them on the tv."

"Really? Wow, I gotta get me one of those," laughed Zante, getting up and walking towards the screen. Yena, Frank, and Dorian walked over to it, too.

"Here, let me," offered a beautiful, white-haired woman in a provocative red cowgirl outfit sitting at a couch with a laptop. She held a remote up and fiddled with the tv while the audience sat in her couch and the other one. A few button presses later, and the tv let out a mechanical whine as a second screen, equal in size, came from the bottom. "Alright, I set it to full replay, so you can see the mission briefing, too," the woman said, tossing the remote to Dorian. "You might wanna fill 'em in on the stuff beforehand, first, though. Then push play."

Dorian nodded, blushing and somewhat nervous. "Th-Thanks, Diva Foxx!"

Travis came in just then, a burrito in hand. (They'd had Mexican that night.) "Whatcha guys doin'?" he asked, coming over.

"They're gonna show me your guys' first mission," Yena answered happily. "You should tell me about how it started, first, though, since you're probably the most reliable narrator of you three..."

"Hey!" Frank and Dorian fake-pouted.

"...Well, okay, Dorian's not far behind."

Frank half-eyed and Dorian smirked. Travis chuckled and sat down next to his friends. "Yeah, I can't argue there...Alright, let's see," he tilted his head back, thinking. "...Okay, here's how it started..."

***FLASHBACK!***

**~Sinnoh, Day Before Yesterday~**

"...mmmmmm..." Travis groggily got up and blinked. He was in a hard-to-find wooded hollow, lying in a sleeping bag on the ground. It was morning. He sniffed the air and detected, to his delight, "Bacon?"

In a flash, Frank, who had been sound asleep next to him, was awake and wide-eyed. _"BACON! Where?"_

Dorian, already up and getting on a pair of golden yellow slacks, shook his head and sighed. "I dunno which is worse—you or the werewolf," he mused.

The dark hand stirring a pan of scrambled eggs stopped. Dorian looked over and saw the owner of the hand, a beautiful young black woman with a decent-sized, white-streaked black afro and brown eyes, crouching over a fire with a pair of pans on a wire grill tray. She wore a tight-fitting v-neck that exposed her midriff and torn-jeans short-shorts, both a deep—not dark—green. Sleek black leather engineer-style boots, with adjustment buckles at the ankle and the top, with 2-inch-high heels covered her feet and legs. She was looking at the bacon, face away from his sight, but she resumed scrambling the eggs as suddenly as she had stopped. "My opinion? The idiot's worse," she chuckled. Her voice was full and somewhat deep, hanging around the middle of the alto range. She had a slight accent.

Travis raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh! Um..." He thought a second, looking up. "...Clara, right? Clara Shaymin? I keep forgetting everyone's names..." He blushed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head and ruffling his impressive head of hair.

The woman nodded, own impressive hair bobbing with the motion. "Yep, that's me," she confirmed. She glanced over at him, raising a slender black eyebrow. "Why, 'cuz we keep going by our codenames, instead?" She looked back at her food. As Travis replied, she lifted the pans of eggs and bacon off the fire and onto a nearby flat stone and began to scrape the contents onto platters full of bacon and eggs.

"Well, yeah...though I dunno why I keep forgetting _your _name," the werewolf stretched, raising an eyebrow back at her.

"Yeah—Clara _Shaymin_, Diva _Bloom_..." Frank shrugged, getting up and stretching, himself, and smirking. "Honestly, why'd you agree to _go _with that one? 'Sass' sounded just fine."

Clara shrugged. "Just like how 'Bloom' sounds better, I guess," she replied. She turned and shouted, _"Yo, lazybones! Soup's on!" _in the direction of a large green tarp tent.

"Alright," came back two female voices.

"We'll be out in a sec," one of them assured. This one was light and a bit deeper than Clara's.

"We don't need to wear the jackets or visors yet, right?" asked the other, bright and higher than either of the others'.

"I ain't," Clara answered with a shrug. She looked at Travis. "Any objections, there, chief?"

Travis, currently getting his own pair of golden yellow slacks on, laughed, shaking his head and whipping his hair around. "No, just have 'em on before we go, and I'm Wolf—Chieftain might get confused if you keep calling me 'chief'."

Dorian walked over to him. He had added a pair of shiny gray dress shoes and a gray dress shirt to his gray-belted (silver-buckled) pants. The shirt was French-cuffed with silver links. "When _are _we leaving, again? It's 8:37 now."

Travis buckled his belt. "Ummm...well, after we're done eating and everyone gets here is my guess," he shrugged. "S'long as we get there before 9, 9:15, we should be okay." He looked around. "I know that Zante and Vesp were finishing up their lecture to some local pokémon..." he murmured to himself. (Zante, having learned to speak Human on his own and Vesp, having learned from Zante, were "Pokémon Linguists" who taught other pokémon how to speak Human. Since Travis, Frank, and Dorian traveled on a pokémon journey together around Sinnoh, the odd couple decided to stick with them and give small lessons on basic Human terms to other pokémon they meet.) Travis raised an eyebrow. "Where're the other two?"

"They said they'd be coming—" Dorian began when a _kshh-kshh-kshh _sound met their ears. They turned to the woods and saw a shape moving towards them. As it got closer, they could see it was a familiar face—one of a boy in a bandanna, shades, ear buds, and fancy roller blades in addition to his own similar outfit to theirs. He was making use of the relatively hard dirt of the area to skate along at a high speed.

The problem was, he was coming straight towards Travis, Frank, and Dorian.

_"Rudieeeee!" _cried the three, scrambling to get out of the way before they were run over. Frank tripped on his pants, trying to hop on one leg while he put the other in. Rudie, smirking, jumped onto a tree trunk and hopped off of that to sail clear over their heads. He landed in a skid of dirt, sending it flying right onto the fire, putting it out, transitioning smoothly to a feet-together stand. _~(Rudie desc: Chapter 17: Aisle 10. Ctrl F "Citareen" and you'll reach his paragraph.)~_

He pulled out his ear buds and crossed his arms. "Took care of the fire for ya," he said. "Hope ya didn't have to make coffee still."

Clara blinked in surprise as she inspected the food. "And not a speck of dirt on the chow," she marveled in a low voice. "D'aim, kid's too good..."

"Bud's comin' soon, too," Rudie thumbed as he glided over to the food, grabbing a plate from the stack laid beside the platters. "Now c'mere and grab some eggs before I make you regret it."

Travis and Dorian frowned (while Frank, pulling up his pants, scowled) as they walked over. "Did you just..._skate_ over _dirt?" _asked Dorian, raising an eyebrow and sweatdropping while he grabbed a plate to get some eggs.

"Yep."

"...O_kay_, then."

"We're finished!"

Everyone turned to see two other attractive young women coming over. One, light-skinned with relaxed green eyes, was somewhat tall and had her long blonde hair in a braid. The other was slightly shorter than Clara, had fair skin and wide blue eyes, and wore her medium-length brunette hair straight around her, the ends curling up. Both had the same outfits as Clara. The blonde held her hand up. "Hey, Ruds," she greeted. She was the one with the slightly deeper voice than Clara's.

"Yo, Milly," Rudie flicked his hand up in return before forking some egg into his mouth.

The brunette held her fists to her face and squeezed her eyes, smiling. "Ooooh! We're going into another _world! _I can't _wait!" _she squealed. (She was, of course, the bright voice.)

"Hold your horses, there, Peony," Travis eased, smiling. "We've gotta eat first, and Bud isn't here yet, either. We can't leave without him."

Peony giggled and stuck out her tongue. "I know that, silly!" she teased. "I'm just excited, that's all!"

A couple minutes later, another call came through the forest. "Hey! Starting without me? How rude!" came a deep, amused voice.

The group turned to see a tall, medium-build young Latino man with normal, short black hair. He wore his own suit, complete with double-breasted golden-yellow jacket and tie, a dignified (smirk notwithstanding) expression, a pair of rectangle-lens shades, short, curt sideburns, and a silver ring in his left nostril.

Frank smirked. "Well, if you weren't spending so much time making sure you were all stuffy and straight, you would've gotten here faster, Bud!" he called back.

"Honest, you've got to learn some manners! Don't speak with your mouth full!" Bud frowned back. Frank sniggered.

After Bud got his food, Dorian, finished with his food and holding up a clipboard, looked left and right at everyone, then at their leader. "Alright, who else needs to get here?" he quizzed Travis.

"Zante and Vesp," Travis replied, shrugging on his jacket. "If you're finished with your food, start packing up, guys—don't just stand around."

Dorian nodded, looking at the list on the clipboard. "Yep. We'll wait for 'em to get back, then I'll do roll call."

One minute later, Zante and Vesp returned. They wore no clothing apart from the pink Pecha Scarf Zante wore around his chubby neck. "You guys saved us some meat, _right?" _Vesp called, giving a warning eyeridge raise to the humans.

"Of course we did," Clara chuckled. "I know my diners, so I made sure I had enough bacon."

"Good!" Vesp smiled sweetly, showing off her huge fangs. "Because otherwise, I would've had to have hurt everyone!"

"N-Now, now, honey," a sweatdropping Zante cooed nervously, patting his beloved on the head. "It's not nice to poison people who have an important appointment to keep with Commander Khan..."

Vesp stuck her tongue out at Zante. "'Fair' isn't always 'nice', dear," she teased.

"Then you should work on your definition of 'fair'," Zante half-eyed, smirking. Vesp play-bit him on the shoulder and Zante (after flinching) laughed.

The humans sweatdropped as the duo stopped by the food. "This must be the thousandth time someone's said this, but you guys are _weird," _Peony commented, putting her hands on her hips.

"Nah, just the 200th, but yeah," shrugged Zante, grabbing some bacon and eggs on a plate and setting it down to get another. When he sat, he ate from his own plate while balancing the other on his stomach and arm, letting Vesp eat from it. They'd done this every time they ate human food with the group, so this at least wasn't unusual.

"Alright, that looks like everyone." Dorian adjusted his glasses. "Primary roll call!" He readied his pencil. "Arcanine, Bud!"

"Present," nodded Bud.

"Check. Carter, Milly!"

"Here," Milly held a hand up.

"Check. Shaymin, Clara!"

"Yep!" Clara confirmed.

"Check. Monkshood, Travis!"

"Existent," Travis chuckled.

"Check. Thatcher, Dorian, here, check. Thompson, Rudie!"

"Groovin'," Rudie snapped a finger.

"Check. Torchman, Peony!"

"Right here!" Peony jumped, waving a hand enthusiastically.

"Check. Vesp?"

"...Here," Vesp lifted her tail after swallowing her last mouthful of food.

"Check. Walker, Frank!"

"Not here!" Frank called.

"Check. Zante?"

"Bringin' up the rear," Zante chuckled.

"And check. Okay!" Dorian checked his watch. "We're doing good! 8:45! Let's all work fast and pack up so we can leave by 9!"

"You heard the man! Get workin'!" Travis backed up, crossing his arms. He half-eyed to Frank. "I'm talkin' to you, Frank."

"Right, right, don't have to bite my ass about it," Frank playfully grumbled, rolling up his sleeping bag.

With everyone's help, they had packed up the tent, supplies, and other gear in ten minutes. The humans had finished dressing by then. Travis wore a futuristic (or maybe 80's) visor-like pair of green-rimmed sunglasses with a semicircular, wraparound, relatively thin long rectangular strip lens. (Kinda-sorta like Cyclops' visor, but curved around. You know the kind.) Frank wore bad-boy triangle-lensed shades (not Kamina-style; think shorter and more regular-sided versions of Chieftan's shades). Dorian just wore clip-on shades over his glasses.

The girls didn't wear shades—they each wore the same kind of plastic wraparound visors, shaped with the outlines of sunglasses and tinted light blue. Clara wore hers up on her head instead of over her eyes. As well, the girls had also put on what looked like a combination of bomber jackets and biker jackets—they were open, breast-length black leather biker jackets, but their sleeves ended in bomber jacket-like tufts of fluffy off-white faux fur.

After everyone finished, Travis looked around and nodded. "Alright, looks like we're all set," he announced, smiling. "And with 3 minutes to spare!"

"Then shut up and let's get this started with," Frank smirked.

"Hush that," Travis ordered firmly over his shoulder to Frank. "We've gotta behave around Commander Kahn. That means you." Frank just humphed and crossed his arms in an exaggerated sulk. Travis pulled out something like a police badge and flipped it open, touching a finger to the plastic over the id card (which had a blank id, for some reason). The rectangle glowed before revealing itself to be a screen.

The serious, aviator-wearing, old face of Commander Kahn looked out at him from the screen, fingers steepled on his desk. He nodded, and Travis saluted. "So, are you ready to come?" he asked.

"Ready when you are, sir!" Travis replied.

Kahn nodded again before looking to the side. He looked back a second later. "Everyone stand back a bit, we're opening the portal to your position," he instructed. The group took a few steps back from the center of the hollow.

There, with a sizzling sound, opened a large, blue-rimmed oval portal. "And this time," Kahn added with a raised eyebrow, the group looking back at Travis' badge, _"walk,_ please."

Travis, Frank, Dorian, Zante, and Vesp grinned sheepishly and chuckled embarrassedly, looking at each other. Rudie just smirked and chuckled to himself. Travis looked back at the badge. "Coming, sir!" he saluted before stowing the device in his jacket. He looked at the others. "'Kay, guys, follow me," he nodded before walking into the portal. The others followed one at a time.

**~EBA HQ~**

As soon as Zante and Vesp came through, Diva Foxx pressed a button on the side of the arch-like portal mechanism. The portal shrank and vanished.

Commander Kahn looked at the group assembled. "Welcome back, returning Agents and allies, and welcome, first-timers, to EBA HQ," he nodded. "For you new ones, I am Commander Kahn, leader of the Elite Beat Agents. Today marks a very important occasion," he continued. "Today is the day the first branch of the Elite Beat Agents is officially integrated into the rest of the agency. But first, I must ask a few questions." He stood and put his hands behind his back. "Agents, _sound off!" _he called.

"Like we practiced," mouthed Travis out the corner of his mouth. He saluted. "Agent BA-1 Wolf, Sweatin' Rank Lead!"

"Agent BA-4 Turner, Left Backup!" Frank saluted.

"Agent BA-3 Garret, Right Backup!" Dorian saluted.

"Agent BA-2 Grind, Cruisin' Rank Lead!" Rudie crossed his arms.

"Agent BA-5 Slide, Breezin' Rank Lead!" Bud saluted.

"Diva BD-1 Bloom, Hard ROCK! Rank Lead!" Clara saluted.

"Diva BD-3 Sunny, Left Backup!" Peony saluted.

"Diva BD-2 Jazz, Right Backup!" Milly saluted.

Zante and Vesp remained silent, since they weren't officially part of the team.

_(Pay attention to who owns each code name; these characters shall be referenced as such from now on.)_

Kahn raised an eyebrow at Grind. "What are the _goals_ of the Elite Beat Agents?" he continued.

"To help the world achieve its goals through the power of song and dance, to give the best performances possible, to protect the freedom of music throughout the universe, and to nurture positivity in the hearts of all living things!" the Agents and Divas answered in unison.

"What is the _purpose_ of your division?"

"To carry out the goals of the Elite Beat Agents in the world inhabited by pokémon to the best of our abilities!"

"What is the _most important part_ of being a member of the Agency?"

_"To keep on rockin' as hard as you can!"_

"Very good!" Kahn nodded. He turned his head to the main entrance. "Agents, Divas, front and center!" he called. While Diva Foxx began moving towards the group, all the other Agents and Divas entered through the door.

"Take the badge handed to you by your main EBA counterpart," he instructed. As he spoke, the other Agents and Divas moved to stand in front of each of them. (Agents Lock, Meyers, and Hunter simply stood to the side, watching. Wolf noticed bemusedly that Lock had shaved his peach fuzz for the occasion.) When all of them reached the newbies, they each held out a closed, gray leather badge holder. Wolf took his from Chieftan, Turner his from the white, red-afroed Derek, Garret his from the black, hat-wearing Morris, Grind his from the orange-pompadoured J, Bloom hers from the blonde-haired Starr, Sunny hers from the brunette pigtail-braided Missy, and Jazz hers from the white-haired Foxx. When the badges had been taken, the veteran Agents and Divas walked to one side of the room to join Lock, Meyers, and Hunter.

Kahn nodded slowly before announcing, "I, Commander Kahn of the Elite Beat Agents, hereby officially establish the first branch of the Elite Beat Agents, the Elite Beat Agents Pocket Division—the EBA-P! Welcome to the EBA, Pocket Division!"

"THANK YOU, SIR!" saluted the new Agents and Divas, smiling.

Kahn sat again. "As you should know, the badges you have received are to be on your person at all times," he instructed. "If a target is relatively nearby, or if we detect one once we send up our satellite in your world, they will beep and display a briefing when opened, which I will be a part of. We shall outfit you with the standard repertoire of Agent gear and gadgets which you can use to reach and keep up with your targets. Your badges shall also assist with the music part of the mission. I shall be observing your progress from here. When finished, I will contact you with the badges and we will announce the results of the mission."

Everyone nodded in understanding. They'd all heard this before and knew what to do.

"Now, then, why don't we get started?" Kahn looked over to Foxx. "Come with Foxx here, and she will give you each your gear."

Foxx nodded and started walking towards the door, the rest turning to follow.

Just then, an alarm began beeping loudly, and the lights flashed red. Kahn turned his chair to the console and pressed a key, halting the alarms' noise. Everyone stopped to look. Kahn raised an eyebrow as he read one of the many screens in the control room. "Hmmmm...On second thought..."

On the main screen was a green map of the planet, a target crosshair pointed at New York City. The map faded to black (reappearing on a smaller side screen), and the mission briefing began to unfold in its place...

***/FLASHBACK!***

**~Cheer Base~**

"...and that's when we saw the briefing begin," Travis finished.

"Which means it's time to start the show," Foxx said, clicking a button on the remote. The briefing started on the two television screens.

**-:VvVvV:-**

**~Central Park~**

It was a sunny Saturday morning in New York City. Walking along the path of its famous park was a familiar blonde-haired duo: A twin-ponytail-wearing girl resting her head against a well-built, short-and-spiky-haired boy in a number shirt carrying a football. The girl was carrying a picnic basket.

"Man, you picked the _perfect_ day for a picnic, babe!" the boy smiled, looking around the park. "I can't wait for lunch!"

The girl blushed, smiling as well. "Hey, Sophie said the weather'd be great today, and you know how she's always right, Donnie," she replied.

(Jane, 18, babysitter. She's been going steady with Don Tanner for about a year now. She's planning on spending the whole day with her boyfriend.)

"Heh...Hey, there's a great spot over there," Don pointed. A large patch of grass lay unoccupied. "We could play catch there! C'mon, we got time before the movie!"

Jane sweatdropped, but smiled and nodded. "Sh-Sure, why not?" 'Sometimes I wonder if football's the only thing he thinks about...'

Don ran over to one end of the clearing and turned to Jane. "Here comes my spiral!" he called before throwing the football.

Jane squeaked, setting down the basket. "EEK! I'm not ready!" she protested. She didn't move in time to catch the ball, and it bounced off to ground. "I'll get it!"

They tried again. "Catch!" _Bounce!_ "I'll get it!"

And again. "Catch it!" _Bounce!_ "I'll get it!"

And _again. _"C'mon, catch it!" _Bounce!_ "I'll get it!"

On the fifth time, Jane was following the ball when she found it get picked up by another pair of hands. "Well, well..."

"Huh?" Jane looked up into the face of a long-haired, orange-tanned, skimpily-dressed (including tacky, gaudy flip-flops) blonde with way too much make-up and oversized shades.

The new girl lifted the ball up. "Looks like _someone _hasn't learned _anything_ from her boyfriend," she jeered, smirking.

Jane frowned, affronted. "Ex_cuse_ me?" she challenged.

The other girl ignored her. "Yo, Tanner! This yours?" she called as she unleashed a surprisingly good throw.

"Yeah! Thanks, Bella!" Don answered, catching the ball.

Jane, raising her eyebrows, looked back and forth at Don and Bella, who'd pushed up her sunglasses to reveal over-lined blue eyes. "Huh? You know each other?" she asked.

"Yeah, um..." Don came over, an embarrassed smile on his face. The smile turned to a frown as he looked away, hand on the back of his head. "...Could I...talk to you for a bit, Jane?" he asked.

Jane blinked. "Uh...okay."

A moment later, in a different part of the park, under some trees...

_"You're _**_WHAAAAAAAT?_**_"_

"Yeah, I'm, uh...I'm really sorry," Don said, hands behind back as he looked away in shame.

Jane stood looking up at him in utter shock. "You've _got _to be _kidding!" _she cried. _"Breaking up with me!" _'And "I'm really sorry" is all you can say?'

"Look, our relationship hasn't been all that...great," Don rubbed the back of his neck, blushing. "I mean...you're one of the coolest girls I've ever known, and you're great, and I still wanna be great friends with you, but...I just dunno if we're all that...compatible, y'know?" He looked at her sheepishly, trying for sympathy and understanding.

Jane gave him horror and confusion. "But...But...we've only fought, like, twice..." she whimpered, eyes watering. "Why so sudden...?"

Don shrugged and reasoned innocently, "Well, um...I just thought that, ah, I should quit cold turkey, that's all. I-I mean, aren't all break-ups kinda like that?"

"COLD—" Jane stopped her rebuttal when she thought for a moment. She frowned and looked away and down. "Well...yeah, I guess they _kinda _are, _some_times..." she muttered. "But why—"

"Really? Cool! Okay, c'mon, we're still gonna have fun today as friends, though!" Don called over his shoulder as he started running back, smiling.

"WHAH?" Jane blanched. "Is he avoiding the question...?" 'Why did he _really _wanna dump me?'

When she caught up with him, she saw Don talking to Bella. Don looked up as Jane arrived. "By the way, is it alright if Bella joins us?" he asked.

"Uh...Now that it isn't a date anymore, sure, I...guess..." Jane answered, looking disappointed and confused.

"Great! Thanks, Jane!" Don grinned. "Now, what do you wanna do first, babe?"

'"BABE"!' Jane stopped dead in her tracks, turning white in disbelief. 'But...but...he always called _me _babe...'

While Don was walking off, Bella gave Jane an evil little wink. "Thanks for the guy, girl," she whispered before trotting off after Don. "Wait up, Donnie~!"

Jane stood there for a moment more, tears starting to well in her eyes, staring aghast at the situation. 'I'm right...I...He...She...She _stole_ him from me...' she realized. 'My..._My_ Donnie...'

She couldn't take it anymore. She wobbled. She trembled. She rattled. She reared her head to the heavens and cried out a tearful,

"_**HEEEEEEAALLLP!"**_

The image of Jane crying suddenly tinted with green. It was on the main screen of the control room. Commander Kahn was looking at it. "EBA-P."

"YESSIR!" came the response of the Agents and Divas off-screen.

"Jane is an 18-year-old babysitter who has abruptly, without a well-defined reason, been dumped for a...erm..."

"Skank, sir?" suggested Turner. (Wolf smacked him.)

"Not how I would put it, but yes," Kahn continued, sweatdropping. "Your mission is to help her regain her boyfriend. Who will be going?"

A pause. "Sir! Me, Turner, and Garret!" replied Wolf.

Kahn nodded. "Alright, then..." He began to turn, standing. "Agents are..." He finished, whipping his pointing finger out. **"...GO!"**

**-:-:-**

_(-) (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I don't like your girlfriend!_

_(-) (No way! No way!)_

_(-) I think you need a new one_

_(-) (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I could be your girlfriend_

_(-) *guitar*_

_(-) (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I know that you like me_

_(-) (No way! No way!)_

_(-) I know it's not a secret_

_(-) (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I want to be your girlfriend_

_(-) *guitar*_

The EBA convertible roars open along the streets of New York. Driving is J, and riding are Wolf, Turner, and Garret. Turner is holding onto his hat, while Garret is fighting Wolf's hair flying into his face. The car skids to a halt _in the middle of the park _and out leaps Wolf, Turner, and Garret, landing in front of a surprised Jane. Wolf shows her his badge as the three let out a """HEY!""".

**-:-:-Life's No Picnic! Love Triangles and Boyfriends!-:-:-**

That title flew across the upper tv screen on the replay, being the title of the episode (mission). "Courtesy of the Pocket Division—The Elite Beat Agents are at your service!" announced Wolf, grinning. "You go beat that wife-wannabe and we'll back you up!"

"You're not..." Jane looked helplessly at J.

J shrugged, raising his eyebrows sympathetically as he smiled. "It's the new Pocket Division's first mission," he explained. He smirked and gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, they're here to bring you the same results as last time—_fantastic. _Break a leg, guys!" J drove off.

Wolf nodded to him, then to the others. "Alright, guys, let's get to work!"

Jane sweatdropped at them, then trotted after Bella and Don. They stopped by the lake, and Jane looked on as Bella suggested, "Hey, let's go feed some ducks!"

"Feeding ducks? Cool!" Don enthused.

Jane bit her lip. "But...ducks _hate _me..." she whimpered.

Suddenly, jumping and falling down directly in front of her were the EBA-P, who began their wave. On the replay, this was represented by them jumping down from nowhere onto the bottom television screen while their target remained on top. Jane felt herself filled with the same energy she had last year, when the normal Agents cheered her on, and couldn't help but sway to the beat of the music. "WHOOOOOAA!"

The new Agents whipped out their mics and got to work. **"""Are you ready?...3! 2! 1! GO!"""**

_- You're so fine, I want you mine_

_- You're so delicious_

_- I think about you all the time_

_- You're so addictive_

_- Don't you know what I could do to make you feel alright (alright, alright, alright)?_

_- Don't pretend I think you know I'm damn precious_

_- And hell yeah_

_- I'm the motherfucking princess_

_- I can tell you like me too and you know I'm right_

The Agents began to dance to Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" while Jane began taking feed and nervously spreading it out for some ducks. These Agents' moves were similar to the normal Agents' stylish moves, but they added a bit of flair to nearly each one. Back-and-forth motions had more bounce, side arm movements had them point with their index fingers instead of the whole hand, and they formed a sharper angle with their free-handed arms during arrow-like corner-stomps. They danced on a nearby bank, out of sight of their targets. When the section was over, they assumed a standard Agents pose (stand ready, mics to mouths) as their screen faded to black.

Jane tried to feed some ducks with some bread crumbs, like Don and Bella, who were standing a pair of steps from her, towards the background. (The camera was fixed in place on the top television screen.) Initially, Jane was nervously standing and flinging handfuls of feed into the water, but the small flock of ducks pretty much ignored her, all but one old, plump, lazy one eating from Don and Bella. The pair was smiling and looking at the ducks that they fed.

Soon, Jane gained a boost in confidence and knelt down, smiling from the cuteness and excitement, as she let a duck eat from her own hand, other ducks _quack~_ing contentedly around her and eating food she had spread earlier. When her hand was emptied, she got another scoop and another nearby duck ate from it. Beyond, Don had lost interest in his duck-feeding and was watching Jane with a pleasantly surprised smile on. Bella merely gave a scowl at her, squeezing her bag of feed tightly. No ducks ate from them anymore.

Jane shifted between the two states for a while, but then, once, for a brief moment, she was floundering on the ground, ducks quacking angrily as they swarmed her, nipping at her ("Ow! Ouch! Owwie! Yow!"). Don sweatdropped, frowning both worriedly and embarrassedly at her, as he fed his ducks offhandedly, and Bella laughed at her. A few ducks (since the rest of the flock plus more were attacking Jane) ate from them. Thankfully, this ended almost as soon as it began, and Jane was feeding a happy group once more.

A random person feeding ducks pointed to a large duck with (to many of the viewers' surprise) a _mustache_ waddling along the shore. "Anyone wanna try feeding picky Old Ornery?" he challenged.

"I will!" Jane and Bella both offered, holding up their hands. They stole a quick glare at each other.

Old Ornery stopped and appraised them with half-lidded eyes.

Jane and Bella both crouched, feed in an outstretched palm. ""C'mon!"" both coaxed with welcoming smiles.

Old Ornery blinked.

"C'mere, Old Ornery!"

Old Ornery settled on one and quietly ate some feed...from Jane's hand. Jane smiled sweetly and giggled while Bella looked on in jealous horror. "Hee-hee, that tickles!"

"Wow, nobody can _ever _feed Old Ornery!" Don marveled at Jane behind her, giving her a thumbs-up.

—**O—**

_(-) She's like so whatever_

_(-) And you can do so much better_

_(-) I think we should get together now_

_(-) And that's what everyone's talkin' about!_

Bella took Don's arm and began walking down a path with him, talking to him. Jane saw this and raised her eyebrows. "A romantic walk in the park to the movie?" she muttered. She narrowed her eyes and rose a fist. "I don't think so!"

The Agents began swaying once more; this time, however, Jane was joined by Old Ornery, oddly enough, who held his wings up and everything.

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I don't like your girlfriend!_

_- (No way! No way!)_

_- I think you need a new one_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I could be your girlfriend_

_- *guitar*_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I know that you like me_

_- (No way! No way!)_

_- I know it's not a secret_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I want to be your girlfriend_

_- *guitar*_

The Agents began a totally different dance this time. It was standard EBA protocol for Agents—Divas were exempt—that, during the chorus of whatever song they were doing, they use a preplanned dance that does not change between different routines of the same song.

Meanwhile, Jane began walking with Don, the camera fixed in relation to the three to show them side-by-side from an angle as they walked. Jane was doing mediocre at first; both her and Bella walked on either side of a slightly flustered Don, who looked between one and the other as both tried to talk to him, splitting his attention. Then, Jane lost a little confidence, falling somewhat behind, watching and shaking in horror and frustration as Bella took total control of the talk, holding his arm tight. Don looked relieved that only one person was talking to him. This did not last too long—soon, Jane was dominating the conversation while Bella was behind, wearing Jane's previous expression, Jane holding Don's other arm. Don seemed happier talking to Jane than Bella. This and the two-girl talk switched off the remainder of the segment.

The trio rounded a curve—when a pack of cyclists suddenly came the other way right towards them.

"WHOA!" all three exclaimed.

ZOOM! ZOOM! ZOOM! The cyclists whizzed past. When the dust settled, Don smiled and said, "Whew, those guys should watch out more, huh?" and looked down to his side.

In his arm close to his body was Jane. She smiled up at him, blushing, and nodded. "Yeah...thank you," she said.

Meanwhile, on Don's other side, Bella lay twitching on her back, tire treads on her body and hair and clothes in disarray.

—**O—**

_(-) I can see the way, I see the way you look at me_

_(-) And even when you look away I know you think of me_

_(-) I know you talk about me all the time again and again (again, again, again)_

The group made it to the theaters, where the marquee read, "Invaders from the Magnetic Planet." "We're just in time, guys!" Don pointed excitedly.

'Time for some snuggling, that's what!' Jane thought excitedly, smiling at Don. She noticed Bella doing the exact same thing, and the two shot electric glares at each other.

The swaying began again, Don joining this time.

_- So come over here, tell me what I want to hear_

_- Better yet make your girlfriend disappear_

_- I don't want to hear you say her name ever again (and again, and again, and again!)_

_- She's like so whatever_

_- And you can do so much better_

_- I think we should get together now_

_- And that's what everyone's talkin' about!_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I don't like your girlfriend!_

_- (No way! No way!)_

_- I think you need a new one_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I could be your girlfriend_

_- *guitar*_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I know that you like me_

_- (No way! No way!)_

_- I know it's not a secret_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I want to be your girlfriend_

_- *guitar*_

At the movies, the camera showed them side-by-side again, this time head-on. The girls were again on either side of Don. At first, neither girl was trying to snuggle with Don, occasionally grabbing from the bucket of popcorn in his lap, all three watching the movie. Then, Jane got her act together, stopped watching the movie so closely, and snuggled with Don, who smiled and snuggled back with an arm, the two sort of hogging the popcorn, while Bella sulked, slouched in her seat with her arms crossed. However, Jane ended up distracted by the movie again, and quickly found Don and Bella snuggling instead, Bella looking at him, leaving her to watch the two of them in dismay and hurt, raising an arm to try and at least get some popcorn but snatching it back when Bella grabbed some. This was momentary, however, as, after Jane tapped Bella and pointed at the screen to call her attention to the screen to a scene, they got back to the medium status, shifting between okay and good again.

They were watching how they were for a moment after the segment ended, when abruptly, a monster jumped out on-screen. Don, spiked-up hair rippling erratically, yelped, "EE-YAAH!" and jumped clear out of his seat. The movie patrons watched him fly up...and then fall down into Jane's lap, where she held him Scooby-style with a blush and sweatdrop. "Sscaarryy!" he whined. (Bella, totally shocked, could not help but sweatdrop, too.)

Jane chuckled nervously, smiling sympathetically. "It's just a movie, Donnie," she soothed.

Don blushed at this, grinning sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, I knew that," he muttered.

—**O—**

_(-) In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger_

_(-) 'cause I can, 'cause I can do it better_

_(-) There's no other_

_(-) So when's it gonna sink in?_

_(-) She's so stupid_

_(-) What the hell were you thinking?_

The trio made it back to the park, where they finally set up the picnic. "Man, it's a good thing no bears pilfered our lunch, huh?" Don commented happily while he spread out the checkered blanket.

"Yeah," Jane nodded, smiling. '_Our_ lunch, that is...'

"Man, I could sure use a great sandwich about now—I'm starving!" Don commented, laughing and patting his stomach.

_"I'll_ make one for you, Donnie~!" sang Bella, grabbing some white bread and fixings.

Jane growled. _'I'm_ the only one who makes his sandwiches!' she protested.

The Agents came swaying in again, this time including a moviegoer from the theater.

_- In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger_

_- 'cause I can, 'cause I can do it better_

_- There's no other_

_- So when's it gonna sink in?_

_- She's so stupid_

_- What the hell were you thinking?_

The camera fixed itself to look at Jane and Bella and their sandwiches from the side, who were kneeling before each other. Initially, both girls were working at a medium speed, focusing on slathering mayo and layering fixings carefully. A second later, Bella was working quickly, spraying mayo and bits of fixings all over Jane, who squeaked and shielded herself. A second after that, Jane was doing it back to Bella.

Shortly, the sandwiches were finished, the final piece of bread slammed on. ""DONE!"" both girls cried. They turned to Don and offered their sandwiches, the boy looking between the two morsels in happy indecision. _""Well...?""_ both girls asked semi-impatiently, smiling sweetly at him.

Don looked between them a few more times. "Uh..."

Suddenly, Don squeezed his eyes shut, cried, _"THIS ONE!"_ and thrust his head to one sandwich, mouth open, and clamping down on it. "MMM!" When he opened them, his eyes locked with Jane's, who blushed and, sweatdropping again, smiled at him.

"G...Glad you like it, Donnie...!" Jane murmured.

Bella, meanwhile, growled and inspected her sandwich with one eye. _"Knew_ I shoulda added some dill..." she grumbled.

—**O—**

_(-) (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I don't like your girlfriend!_

_(-) (No way! No way!)_

_(-) I think you need a new one_

_(-) (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I could be your girlfriend_

_(-) (No way! No way-ay-ay!)_

"Alright, let's play some catch to work off lunch!" Don suggested after they ate, standing and grinning with his football.

Jane paled, but Bella replied happily, "Why not, Donnie?" before giving a mean grin to Jane, who fumed and squared her shoulders determinedly.

Wolf, Turner, and Garret looked at each other and nodded, smirking. "Time to finish out!" Wolf announced, and they swayed. This time, nobody else joined the sway.

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I know that you like me_

_- (No way! No way!)_

_- I know it's not a secret_

_- (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I want to be your girlfriend_

_-(No way! No way-ay-ay!)_

_- HEY HEY! (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I don't like your girlfriend!_

_- NO WAY! (No way! No way!)_

_- I think you need a new one_

_- HEY HEY! (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_- I could be your girlfriend_

_- (No way! No way!)_

This time, the camera focused somewhat behind Jane as she tried to catch the distant Don's ball. Beside her was Bella. Sometimes, she barely caught them and threw back, Bella catching every other one. Sometimes, she was grabbing and then instantly returning each throw in one jump, Bella standing and fuming. And sometimes, she was diving for the ball only to have it slam into her face, much to Bella's amusement.

"Here's one last spiral!" Don announced as he reeled back and hurled the ball once more.

_NEEEROOOOM! _The ball screamed towards Jane, seemingly wreathed in flames.

Jane, standing ready, flicked a glare to Bella, who glanced one back, before facing the ball again. 'I can't...'

Both jumped, fair and orange-tanned arms reaching for the high pass. '...let her...'

_THUP!_ Jane caught the ball in her two hands, landing on her feet with a triumphant grin. '...beat me!' Bella, however, landed on her stomach in front of Jane with a WHUMP.

_"Alright!"_ Don came over, smiling, while Bella got up on her hands and knees, grass stains all over her outfit and frowning face. Jane stood holding the ball proudly. "That was a great catch, babe!"

Jane looked up at his energetic face with a hopeful look as she handed the ball to Don (both holding onto it for a moment). "You called me 'babe'!" she noticed.

Don winced in surprise. "I—_whoops!"_ He glanced uneasily at Bella, who was standing up with a scowl. "S-Sorry, uh...force of habit...?"

_SLAP!_

"This has been the _rottenest_ day of my _life!"_ Bella fumed at Don, whose face was turned aside, a red handprint on his bared cheek. Her arm was held out from the smack.

"N-Nice follow-through..." Don stuttered weakly.

"The rottenest day of _your_ life?" pointed Jane, other hand on hip. "Just because I'm not super-talented or super-hot, I just got replaced for a _fake little witch!"_

"Why you—!" seethed Bella, rushed to her with narrowed eyes and crooked fingers, fake nails like claws.

Don, football training letting him easily shake off the pain, quickly held the two apart (hands on shoulders) before a cat fight began (some people stopping and staring at them). _"T-Time out,_ girls, time out!" he exclaimed, frantically glancing between the two of them.

"Why is that useless demoness still _here?"_ whined Bella, crossing her arms with a selfishly hurt pout. "This is _our_ special day!"

Don turned to Bella, eyes narrowed. "Hey! Don't you call her that!" he snapped. Bella shrank back, shocked and caught off guard. He pointed at Jane while still looking at Bella. "She's the hardest-working, most honest girl I've ever met, and you _know_ it!"

"But—" began Bella, holding a finger up with the same hurt look from before.

"And sure, you're really hot, talented, and confident," Don continued, arms crossed, "but you wanna know what else you are?" He pointed down at her in a way that brought hellish (but fond) memories to Jane. _"Selfish, spiteful, and shallow!"_

Bella reeled back, hand to her chest, horror written all over her face as she gasped. She was rendered speechless.

Don turned to Jane, looking to the ground in guilt. "Jane, I'm really sorry," he sighed, arms hanging limply. "I was weak, both to her and to my friends and family."

Jane, blushing from Don's sudden and excellent defense, tilted her head, confused. "Huh?"

"They pressured me to get with her because they thought she'd be better for me." He raised his head meekly. "Jane, can you...can you forgive my fumble and...be my steady again?"

Jane's eyes sparkled as she gasped in joy, smiling. "Donnie...!" They embraced. "Of course!"

"Thanks, babe!" Don (after wiping his brow in relief) smiled as he hugged back.

Bella stood and glared at them, clenching her shaking fists. "You...You...!" she stammered, then spun on her heel with her nose in the air. As she walked off, she grumped, "Hmph! I'm _too _good for you!"

Neither of them cared as they held one another.

_(-) HEY HEY! (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I know that you like me_

_(-) NO WAY! (No way! No way!)_

_(-) I know it's not a secret_

_(-) HEY HEY! (Hey! Hey! You! You!)_

_(-) I want to be your girlfriend_

_(-) (No way! No way!)_

_(-) Hey, hey!_

_ Later that day, Jane is sitting on a bench by the pond, leaning her head on Don's shoulder as the two look at each other romantically. A few ducks are scattered about, some in the pond, a couple waddling around Jane and Don's feet (one of them Old Ornery). Some other people walk down the path or feed ducks._

**-:-:-**

The scene cut to when the trio had returned to EBA HQ. Standing side by side, the new Agents waited in front of Commander Khan's desk. His chair was turned around. They waited for a short moment before Khan turned and stood, brandishing a thumbs-up on the top tv screen. "YEAAAAH!"

Appearing on the bottom screen were cutaway images of half of the trio's faces, each appearing in a bar one by one split-screen style.

(CHUNG!)

(CHUNG!)

(CHUNG!)

"""MISSION COMPLETE!"""

A pause later, where the two images pulled opposite sides away, and a line graph of the performance's effectiveness showed up, accompanied by appropriate sound effects and little pictures similar to the previous scenes. On the top screen, accompanied by a picture of Jane in a happy pose, a string of numbers whirred—the score given to each performance by the system. Eight different stats of the performance whirred their numbers and stopped one by one. No sooner had the last one finished then the score and graph came to a halt and a letter grade fell into place. A stamp appeared on the background of the chart.

(WHOOO! YEAAAHH! clappity-clappity)

_Vrrrrrnnnn_-Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk. Chuk—

VWOOYYY-PSHH!

**~Cheer Base~**

"And that's that," Foxx said, holding the remote up. "You guys didn't do half-bad—not a single miss. You did get pretty badly off a few times, though," she added, indicating the appropriate statistic.

"That's not all, though," Travis* said after shrugging, holding up his finger. "The replay cut out what happened after the performance and after that part."

"Oh?" Foxx raised her eyebrow, looking at him. She used the remote to select the "Next" button on the lower-right-hand corner of the lower screen. It emitted a sound as the screens faded to black, going back to the replay file selection screen.

TEUUSHH!

***FLASHBACK!***

**~Central Park~**

Agents Wolf, Turner, and Garret stood off to the side, out of sight to them, observing this with crossed arms, and nodded to each other. "Let's get to the rendez-vous point," Wolf whispered, and the three casually came from behind the trees they had hidden behind and went off down the path, hands in pockets.

Jane wasn't completely clueless, though—and it was hard to miss someone with Wolf's hairdo, even out of the corner of her eye. "Oh! Donnie, I'll be right back," she said as she stood up suddenly. She trotted over to the trio. "Agents! Wait!" she asked as she approached.

The three halted as Jane stopped before them. Wolf, smirking, said, "You know we don't need any thanks or anything."

Jane shook her head. "No, I'm here to apologize," she corrected him with a sheepish smile and hands behind her back. "I...You weren't the normal Agents, so I doubted you and Agent J, but you came through, anyway." She blushed and nodded. "I'm sorry—and I'm saying thanks anyway," she added, grinning.

Wolf smirked (and blushed a little), nodding back with Garret. Turner, though, grin-smirked and crossed his arms. "Betcha we did a better job than the other guys, huh?" he asked.

Jane blinked and sweatdropped at this. "Uh..."

Wolf, not even giving a single glance, elbowed Turner fairly hard in the ribs, laughing while doing so. "That's perfectly alright, Jane—totally understandable. Thanks for apologizing, and for the thanks."

Jane smiled again, giggling a little...then frowned, tilting her head as she looked at Wolf. "Say, have I seen you somewhere befo—" she began to ask, eyebrow raised.

Wolf interrupted somewhat loudly, "We've gotta get going—" He grinned wolfishly. "—we've still got people to help!" He started moving off past her, Turner and Garret following. "Hope the rest of the date goes well! Bye!"

Jane looked after, a little speechless from the interruption, then smiled and waved. "Bye, Agents!" she called.

"Agents?" Don repeated, walking up from behind her with an interested frown. Jane turned. "I thought the Agents wore black, not gold..."

Jane chuckled nervously, sweatdropping. "Y-Yeah, I, uh, met them a bit ago, they're this new team, so yeah," she half-lied quickly. She took his arm and started leading him off. "C'mon, Donnie, let's feed the ducks some more!"

"Okay, babe!" complied Don happily.

At the street, Wolf, Turner, and Garret stopped by the black convertible driven by the man with the orange pompadour. J smirked and rested an elbow on the door as they approached. "Nice job, guys," he complimented. "Now get in and let's get outta here."

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

**~EBA HQ~**

After the trio had announced their success, Khan seated himself once more. In the room as well were the other members of the EBA-P, all of them standing silently. Khan steepled his fingers on his desk. "Well-done, Agents," he said. "I'm confident now that you'll be a great help to your world."

Wolf nodded. "Thank you very much, sir," he smiled. "We worked hard on everything we did."

Khan nodded a couple times. "I could tell. Now, then, if you'll go to the guest rooms—the ones we loaned to you before, you three," he added, pointing at Wolf, Turner, and Garret, "we'll prepare your gear. You three, your lunch is waiting for you there, if you missed it."

Turner perked up at this and saluted. "Thank you, sir!" he exclaimed.

Khan nodded. "Now then, all of you...DIS-MISSED!"

"YESSIR!" chorused the entire room.

Turner was the first out the door, walking quickly. Wolf sighed and shook his head.

After he went to his room, Wolf found a tray with a hearty sandwich, a glass of water, and a side salad on the desk. "Just like I always had back here," he smiled, reaching down and grabbing the sandwich.

No sooner had he opened his mouth wide to take a bite than the alarms went off. "Huh?" He looked around as the lights in the room turned red.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!" blared a computerized voice set in the key of panic.

"Intruder?" Wolf repeated. He was getting a bad feeling about this.

"ALL PERSONNEL TO THE COMMAND ROOM," it continued.

Wolf cursed, looked at his sandwich longingly, then growled and set it down on the plate again before dashing to the door.

As soon as it slid open, all he saw was black.

_"Travis!"_ Garret cried as he ran out of his room (the trio's rooms were next to each other) and saw what happened. Travis had been struck out cold by a being in a weird mantle—with a mask shaped like a tentacruel. The being turned to face Garret.

"What's going on!" Turner called as he barreled out his room, own grilled cheese sandwich in hand. He raised his eyebrows as he saw the figure, who turned its head to face Turner.

"A little revenge," the being replied cooly as it suddenly disappeared in a swarm of thorns and darkness.

"Travis, are you okay?" Garret ran to Wolf and lifted him up. He removed his shades and saw his closed eyes.

"He'll be fine—he's a freakin' werewolf," Turner assured him with a full mouth. He beckoned with his arm. "Put him in his bed and let's get going!"

Garret half-eyed behind his shades. _"Me _put him in bed? I don't think so."

After both hurriedly put Wolf in bed, they trotted off to the Command Room. Once there, they found a scene of confusion. They noticed that Khan was slumped over, knocked out, as well, on the desk, and that Zante, Vesp, Chieftain, Lock, Spin, and J were nowhere to be seen. "Yo, Meyers!" Garret called when he saw him. "We saw this weird dude knock out Tra—Wolf! We put him in his bed, that's why we're kinda late..."

"Really? We saw one, too," Meyers said, pointing between himself and Hunter, frowning. "It was weird—it had a mantle and a mask like a tentacruel..."

"Ours did, too!" Turner nodded, thumbing over his shoulder and spraying a few crumbs.

Garret slapped the sandwich out of Turner's hand. "Would you get serious for once!" he demanded, scowling.

"Well, did yours disappear in a puddle of black sludge that shrank into nothing?" wondered Hunter, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

Garret and Turner blinked, eyes wide. "...Um...more like a bunch of black stuff and thorn things," Garret described.

"In other words, _way_ cooler than making like the Wicked Witch," Turner shrugged after swallowing.

Garret, swatting Turner's chest, looked up at Khan. "What happened to the Commander?"

"The security cameras show that a person in a mantle and mask like you described assaulted him from the side, knocking him out," reported Diva Starr, who was tending to a woozy Foxx lying on the floor. "He then dashed out down your guys' hall."

"Where's Chieftain..." Foxx groaned.

"He's been found unconscious, too, with J and Spin, on the way to get the EBA-P's gear—now be quiet, girl, you got hit pretty hard..." Starr looked with concern for her friend as she examined the back of her head.

"What are we going to do with all of these emergencies?" worried Missy, looking at the main monitor. The map of the world on it showed more and more cries for help. "This is a disaster! What's going on!"

"That's what I wanna know, so _TURN ON THE NEWS_, DUH!" Turner shouted, pointing.

"Hold on..." moaned Foxx, sitting up and holding the back of her head. "Starr, I'm fine, really—just dazed..."

"And goose egged," Starr added admonishingly, but Foxx was already walking to the screens, a remote produced from her person.

Foxx pressed a button to quiet the alarms in that room, then turned the news on on another monitor. A New York station popped on with a frazzled-looking reporter in front of a startling scene. "—one knows where these black creatures came from—witnesses say they just appeared out of nowhere and began to attack," she said in a clipped tone. Behind her, people were running and screaming while black, humanoid creatures chased and attacked them, stealing something from their chests...

Shadows.

Someone came from behind the camera and spoke directly to the reporter's ear. "...We're apparently getting reports from around the world of similar attacks," she relayed.

"Really," Foxx muttered, turning on a few more monitors to news stations. Hong Kong, Rio, England, Brisbane...All of them showed similar scenes. And all over the world, a dark cloud began to form overhead...

_"Get a Japanese one! Tokyo!"_ Grind ordered suddenly. He sounded quite urgent.

"The Ouendan—! Of course!" Derek snapped his fingers.

Foxx did as she was told, also starting up a communications line with the Ouendan. It appeared the exact same thing was going on in Tokyo, only worse—they were infested with _Neoshadows!_ Grind grimaced, clenching his fists.

"Come on, come on..." Foxx muttered, looking at the communication monitor. Finally, it blinked in, showing a hectic scene inside the Evening Squad's base. Black gakuran-wearing Ouendan were running around, shouting in Japanese behind the sweating face of Kioshi. "Yes! _Kioshi!"_ Foxx called, muting the televisions (turning on captions for them). "How are your guys doing?"

"Not good!" Kioshi replied with a grimace. "Japan's being invaded by monsters again—but this time, it's all over the place, and most of our leaders have been knocked unconscious by weird guys..."

"Were they wearing tentacruel masks!" called Garret.

Kioshi nodded. "Yeah, they hit you guys, too?" he asked.

"Khan's down for the count," Foxx said, "and he almost nailed me...with a giant pencil." She rubbed the back of her head again. "I've got a splitting headache, now..."

Kioshi, Garret and Turner froze. "...Wait, giant _pencil?"_ Turner repeated.

Garret looked at him. "It can't be...?"

Kioshi scowled. "Did it materialize?" he asked.

Foxx nodded. "Yeah—just like on those episodes you and the then-unofficial newbies had. I thought the same thing."

Kioshi leaned closer to the webcam. "Be careful, Agents! Something bad's gonna happen, I just know it, especially if THAT guy is involved!" he warned, face near panic. He suddenly stopped, horror rising in his eyes. "...And it's happening for us here, now," he muttered. He turned around and shouted, _"OSU!"_ presenting two fingers out, while launching a formidable amount of spiritual fire.

The Shadow that had sprung up behind him faded into nothing.

"Hold on tight, Agents!" he called over his shoulder. "I get the feeling this'll be a bumpy ride!"

"NO KIDDING!" Grind yelled as he brought his foot back down with a loud clack. Darkness was dissipating around him. "They're coming here, too, y'all! We gotta protect the nappers!" He turned and skated out of the room down the hall. "Imma help the leads!" he called as he went out.

Everyone turned and reacted in shock or alert as Shadows sprang up around the room. "Grind's right!" Starr agreed. She pointed. "Garret, Turner, help out Wolf! EBA-P Divas, help the pokémon!"

"RIGHT!" the five nodded before sprinting out different doors.

"The rest of you—" Starr produced her mic and stared down a Shadow. "—time to put our _hearts_ into _this _performance!"

The Agents and Divas fought on, using their mics and their own form of spiritual fire to fend off the invasion. The ones going to protect the unconscious were able to defend them and themselves there and on the way. Eventually, however, the main group had to fall back, with two men carrying Khan and a few guns broken out (carried only by the adults). "To the hangar!" Starr ordered over the intercom before they left.

"Hangar, eh?" muttered Turner in the hall. He and Garret had their pokémon out as their own weapons, battling the increasingly relentless swarms of Heartless. They were getting a bit tired. Turner turned to his kangaskhan, who barely fit in the hall. "Belle, can you carry Travis?" Turner asked. Belle panted, but nodded. Soon, they were making their way down to the hangar, Belle moving as quickly as she could.

"We can't haul THESE two on our own!" complained Sunny, looking at the heavyish, fainted pokémon they were defending.

Jazz, the only one with a pokémon among them, had long recalled it and was fighting as best she could. "Well, unless they finally come to, we're gonna have to try," she replied.

Bloom, the one doing the best in fighting, blinked. "Wait a minute," she muttered, then turned to Jazz. "You got any revives on you?"

Jazz shook her head. "I'd've used them already if I did," she shrugged.

"Hm..." Bloom looked to Sunny. "Sunny! Go run over to Garret and Turner and see if they have any!"

"Right!" Sunny turned and ran off, trying her best to avoid being hurt by Heartless. She met them as they were partway down to the hangar. "Revives! Got any!" she panted to the boys.

_"Shit! _Shoulda thought of that earlier, sorry!" Turner grumbled, rooting through his pockets. "Always carry a few...here!" He handed two pieces of the oddly-shaped yellow medicine to Sunny. "Hurry! And don't lose 'em, they're the only ones I've got, AND they're expensive!"

Sunny didn't lose them. A few moments later, Zante and Vesp were groaning and getting up weakly. "Damn...I'd almost forgotten what it's like to faint that badly," Vesp commented, shaking her head.

"Well, no time to complain, we've got fighting to do," Zante stretched, lowering his arms again while unsheathing his claws.

"You guys go find and help Grind," Bloom ordered over her shoulder. "We can take care of ourselves, but there's no way Grind can carry three grown, unconscious men on his own—skates or none."

"Got it—c'mon, Vesp!" Zante beckoned, and after Vesp had wrapped around him, Zante was off, dashing on all fours, belly flying inches over the floor, as he followed Grind's scent—which became a trail of spray paint on the walls. "The commander's not gonna like this after this is over," muttered the zangoose as he spied the marks.

"GRIIIIND!" called Vesp as they heard sounds of combat.

"Yo! 'Bout time y'all showed up!" Grind called back. "Hurry up and help me with these guys!"

"How've you been holding up?" asked Zante, giving a dashing Slash through a small group of Shadows. He skidded around a turn and found Grind there..._breakdancing_.

Grind laughed and did a split to take care of two Shadows, then transitioned into a pommel horse to eradicate the surrounding. Piled against a wall behind him were Chieftain, J, and Spin. "Pretty fine, you?" he asked casually as he spun to a stand.

Zante slowed a little, wide-eyed at the way _one guy_ was taking all this, but shook it off and charged through again. "C'mon, quit playing around and let's get these guys outta here!" He stopped and grabbed Chieftain. "Sorry, hun, ride's over...see if you can grab Spin."

"I'll try, dear..." Vesp said, sliding off.

It was difficult, but Grind was stronger than he looked, and they made it to the hangar. Beforehand, however, the power went out—thankfully just as they reached the door. "We could've been a lot farther," explained Vesp after Grind grumped about Zante's remark. The emergency lights lit up, then. "Oh! Handy!" She faced the door's direction. "Zante, Crush Claw that door!"

"Got it, hun!" Zante shrugged off Chieftan and dashed to the door, jumping up with both claws huge and poised. He roared as he flew at it—then yelped as he flew through them, the emergency power going to the doors, as well. He faceplanted and skidded on the ground, plowing through some Shadows for a few feet. "Hun...tell me you didn't know that would happen..." he grumbled as he stood up again. Vesp was sweatdropping behind him, while Grind was laughing.

They'd made it to the hangar. There, they found the other three groups had reached the room, as well, and were by a black, giant jet. "EBA-P! Over here!" called Starr after Zante had soared out of the doors. "Slide! Go help them carry our guys over!" she ordered behind her. "Everyone else, start making your way onto the jet! We've gotta get outta here!"

It took a while, but the EBA and EBA-P managed to make it on the jet with all heads accounted for. Nobody could revive Wolf, even after wafting smelling salts they'd found on the med kit on board under his sensitive nose. The others were able to be roused, however. "Ugh, that stuff smells _awful!"_ Chieftain complained, nearly swatting it away from him a mere second after it had been wafted by him.

"Where are we going?" Missy asked, looking out the windows at the swarm of black below them, climbing up the jet's wheels.

"Anywhere but here!" Khan replied, getting into the pilot's seat. "Good job, Starr, Agents and Divas—thanks. You did exactly as we've drilled."

"Established a leader and organized and carried out a plan," Starr nodded, getting into a seat. "We're all here. I just wish Wolf could be woken up, too."

"Well, whatever's going on must be supernatural, so it probably affected Travis more than the rest of us," Bloom theorized, crossing her arms.

"I'm with her—it took me longest to get up, and you all know about _my_ run-in with ghosts," Lock mumbled, rubbing his head. "I feel like my body's been poured full of slugs..." The engine began to roar to life.

"Ew, _totally_ not necessary right now," whined Sunny, sticking out her tongue.

"Sheesh, can't a guy get credit for creativity under fatigue?..." Lock rolled his eyes.

"Buckle up!" barked Khan, and everyone got into a seat and (someone helping Zante, who had never seen seatbelts before, while he held Vesp) strapped in. Khan stepped on the gas and began to move towards the huge exit. "We're outta here!"

The jet accelerated forwards as the engines began to stream trails of flame. Shadows flew off from the force, and the doors, hooked up to emergency power for just this reason, opened up to let the jet, now starting to fly, soar out down the tunnel.

And right up into the black orb high in the sky upon exiting.

***/FLASHBACK!***

**~Cheer Base~**

"We made it through this endless dark tunnel, Khan the only one not losing consciousness, and made it here," finished Foxx. (They had been trading off storytellers after Travis got to the end of his story—the point where he fainted.)

Travis crossed his arms, growling softly in thought. "So it's related to that guy who tried to wipe out me and my family..." he mumbled. "Little ass."

"What happened to us Ouendan was a little less dramatic," Kioshi said, holding up a finger. "We all either got sucked up after running outside or the roof got torn off and we got sucked up if we stayed inside."

"What about the people from our world?" Travis asked, frowning worriedly. "What about you guys—the Pokédan?"

"Yeah—I'm worried about Netsui," Kioshi nodded, frowning as well. "I haven't seen her all this time..."

Travis raised his eyebrows at this. "Huh? What, they didn't tell you earlier? I thought I was the last one to wake up!"

Yena shook his head. "No, we've only just come to, ourselves," he clarified. A door was heard opening, but nobody paid attention. "Well, most of us. Netsui and Mew were still out cold when I left to find you, but after all this time, I'm sure at least Mew would be—"

_"Wait_waitwaitWAIT," Frank stopped him, holding his hands out and raising an eyebrow with wide eyes. "Run that by me again—did you just say _Mew?"_

''You bet, kid,'' a somewhat tired girl's voice snarked.

"Huh?" Everyone looked around for the source of the voice.

''Door...'' The room turned to the short hallway ending in a door, Kioshi walking out to look down it better. His reward was being glomped by a female dragonite in a tattered uniform with a mew on her shoulder (which squeaked and held onto her back before flying into the boy). ''Would you _please_ not do that without _warning_, Netsui?''

"OhKioshiyou'realrightohthankgoodness!" Netsui blubbered, hugging Kioshi with all her might and crying happy tears.

"I..._won't _be if you...don't get off me..." gagged the Ouendan.

"Oh! I'm doing it again!" Netsui squeaked, getting off him and standing, blushing with her paws behind her back. "Sorry..."

''Sure, you apologize to him but not to me...'' Mew rolled her eyes. She looked around. ''Say, anyone seen a grumpy guy with purple hair and a brown cape that he calls a cloak?'' she asked.

Silence. Not even a "no".

She looked more discriminately at people and sweatdropped as she saw their wide eyes. ''Oh, yeah. Legendary pokémon. Forgot about that.''

Netsui rolled _her_ eyes, crossing her arms. "Yeah, right," she mumbled.

Yena stood up on his hind legs and indicated them. "Everyone, Netsui, the leader of the Pokédan, and Mew, leader of the Pokédan Cheer Girls!" he introduced with a smile. Netsui and Mew bowed briefly.

Frank slowly reached behind him, but Mew caught the gesture and pointed. _''HOLD IT!_ Don't you even _joke_ about it right now!'' she snapped.

Frank pouted. "Killjoy," he grumped.

''Yeah, well, when you've suddenly become so weakened that you've gotta ride on someone instead of fly or teleport, you'd be pretty angry, too, kid,'' Mew crossed her arms. ''Seriously, though, anyone see him?''

A lot of "uh"s and awkward glances followed, ending in everyone shaking their heads. "Sorry, ma'am," Zante shrugged.

Mew sighed in disappointment. ''Oh, well...wasn't expecting much, anyway...C'mon, let's sit down and tell 'em what happened to us, Netsui.''

"Course," nodded the dragonite, and she walked over to the main group of seats, looking around for an empty one.

"It's a girl?" whispered Travis, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, can'cha tell from the telepathy?" Zante whispered back.

"Well, small things usually have squeaky voices, so..."

''I'm _so_ hurting you for that when I get the energy...'' Mew half-eyed.

"Eep!"

''Who's got the squeaky voice, now?'' Mew smirked.

"Now, now, you two," Yena admonished, crossing his arms with a playful smile. "We've gotta get along for a while, from the looks of it."

''Yeah, I know, I'm just teasing him,'' Mew batted a paw as Netsui finally sat down, the Dragon-type insisting Kioshi sit next to her. Kioshi was glad at least that Netsui was slim for a dragonite, though he still felt somewhat awkward knowing she still obviously had a crush on him. Mew sighed and stretched. ''Alright, us gals are still kinda worn out—Yena? Could you start us off?'' she asked.

"Sure thing," he nodded, sitting again. "Let's see...where to begin..."

***FLASHBACK!***

**~Pokédan Base~**

It was the last Friday night of the month in the Orange Archipelago. Netsui was sitting on a rock by the edge of the small island their base was on, gazing at the dazzling astral display above. Yena came walking over on all fours. "~Beautiful night, ain't it?~" he asked as he approached.

Netsui turned and smiled, nodding. "Yeah," she agreed. She frowned. "What did I tell you? Hind legs at all times until further notice! And Human!"

"But it looks so _weird..."_ grumbled Yena as he pushed himself up to a stumbling stand. He continued over and sat human-style next to his leader, looking at the moon above for a moment before looking at the other stars. After a moment, he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Don't call me weird, but...other worlds," Netsui answered, gazing as well.

Yena smirked. "'Cuz Kioshi's from one?"

Netsui blushed and silently planted her fist atop Yena's skull, eyes still focused on the beauty above. "You're right, though," she admitted. "It's still just so amazing...that there really are completely different worlds out there..."

"Yeah..." Yena agreed, rubbing his head. "A world without pokémon, where normal animals and humans are the only animate living things. Kinda scary, but kinda cool."

"They probably need to rely on weapons a lot more," Netsui theorized. (This earned a few guilty glances from the EBA and Ouendan members in the room.)

"But still, a world where cheering can change lives..." Yena muttered. "That reminds me...Today was the first day that Travis and everyone started off officially."

"I hope that went alright," Netsui said quietly. "We don't have to do that kinda thing since the Ouendan aren't as, like...together?"

''"Institutionalized",'' "~you mean?~'' Mew floated over, making them turn to see her. She smiled and landed on Netsui's head. "Hey."

"Hey—Yeah, that," Netsui said, smiling and pointing at her. "Thanks. And you should really learn to speak more Human, too. If you can use telepathy like that, it's not as hard, I hear. Or, at least, you're super-smart, so..."

"~Hey, I've got telepathy—that's good enough for me,~" Mew reasoned, crossing her arms. "~Besides, why would I ever willingly show myself to humans aside from cheers?~" She looked up again. "~But yeah, I've known about other worlds since I was a kitten,~" she said. "~My mother told me how especially strong psychics could teleport past the barriers between dimensions—and not just parallel ones. Those are ass-easy and a way we mews stay outta sight from humans. That and handy-dandy Transform.~"

"Speaking of, could you Transform into something that's not on my head?" Netsui asked playfully, raising an eyeridge.

Mew sent a mental image of nope . avi to her, making the poor girl laugh confusedly. She began scanning the stars.

"But if it's so easy to go between worlds, then do you think that something like what happened a while ago with the Hatemongers could happen again?" Yena wondered.

"Sure, but things have a way of working themselves out," Netsui shrugged confidently.

"~Usually,~" muttered Mew. "~Can't all be happy endings, y'know.~" She frowned a bit as she kept searching. "~That's funny...~"

"What?" Yena asked, looking over at her.

Mew pointed at a cluster of stars. "~That's usually where the Meloetta constellation is,~" she said, "~I swear it—but I'm having trouble finding it, now.~"

"Really?" Yena looked, too, then frowned. "You're right, something's throwing me off..."

"Maybe it's because we're in a different part of the world?" suggested Netsui.

Mew shook her head. "~Uh-uh. This isn't that far from Kanto, and even so, I've seen it other nights.~" She looked around a bit more. "~I'm seeing all the right stars around it...and I'm compensating for tilt...and it can't be because of light pollution, the brightest island around is behind us...~"

"Why is it bugging you so much?" Netsui wondered.

"~Because it's a favorite constellation of mine and it's usually so easy for me to find!~" Mew replied, frustrated. This made her stop and blink. "~Wait...~" She looked around again for a moment, then raised her eyebrows. "~No way...~" She pointed up. "~Doesn't something seem kinda suspicious to you guys about this area of the sky?~" she asked.

They looked a moment, then shook their heads. "Nothing's standing out as odd," Yena said slowly. Then he gasped. "Wait! We're looking at the wrong part of the sky!" he concluded.

"~No, we're not! See, there's the Growlithe constellation, and there's the Scorupi,~" pointed Mew.

Yena frowned, shaking his head. "But that can't be..." he muttered, trailing off as he gazed a moment more. His eyes widened. "But...How the hell—?"

Netsui, getting annoyed that she was was left confused about this, shouted, _"Would you two eggheads explain to me this astronomical heresy, already?"_

"~Sorry, but look—don't you remember there being something pretty particular around here? You know those constellations I mentioned, at least, right?~" Mew tried.

"Yeah, but...wait..." Netsui looked harder, brain working...until suddenly something clicked. "Wait...this...but...how?" she frowned, brow furrowed.

"Yeah," Yena nodded, concerned. "For some reason..."

"~...the bright star that forms the end of Meloetta's hair is gone.~"

Just then, all three of them felt their hearts twinge with dread; the fur on the back of Mew's neck stood on-end. "~Now what?~" she muttered, turning around.

"Now we see if a real legend can actually fare better," a nearly monotone voice replied from a tentacool-masked figure standing a few feet away.

"~What the—?~" Mew rose up instantly, eyes narrowed. 'I couldn't sense him at all! And...he looks just like Mewtwo described the other night!' ''Guys, on your guard!'' she sent to the Pokédan.

The other two, having already stood and turned the moment they felt that twinge, nodded, getting into battle position (Yena dropping to all fours again). "Who are you?" demanded Netsui. "What are you doing here?"

"Nobody, just screwing with you," came the answer. The man jumped back, letting fly a few spiked balls.

The Pokédan scattered to avoid the balls, Mew teleporting and the other two dashing and diving. "~After him!~" Mew ordered after reappearing. 'I won't make the same mistake 'Two did—I'm not gonna hold back!'

The group made their way to the man, who grabbed a spiked ball and opened it like a pokéball. In a cloud of black smoke appeared a shadowy misdreavous. "Night Shade," he ordered, and the pokémon-thing loosed a blast of energy.

Netsui grunted and took it, shielding with both arms and spirit fire, while Yena barely dodged it. Mew flew skillfully around it as she charged at the man. ''You'll pay for what you did to him!'' she bellowed in the direction of his mind.

"Maybe, but not now," the man replied.

Mew squealed in agony as a sudden blast from behind struck her. It was the misdreavous, Night Shading her after moving out of sight. 'I can't sense that thing, either...! Forgot that!' Mew grunted as she caught and righted herself.

"This guy has no scent!" Yena noticed. "I can't track him! Keep an eye on him!"

"I'm trying!" Netsui replied, readying a Thunderbolt. The man moved swiftly, leaving realistic copies like afterimages as he retreated, sending out his spiked balls and shadowy pokémon.

The man almost got hit from behind by a blast of water, though, having to jump aside—to the right, since there was a tree to his left. Netsui unleashed the Thunderbolt—but only managed to hit another copy like the ones they plowed through effortlessly. "Hold _still_, whoever you are!" Feral roared, stomping over and shaking a blue scaly fist.

"No," the man replied simply before jumping high into a tree.

"Whoa," muttered the feraligatr as he watched him.

Ursa trotted up beside him, fists flaming with both real and spirit fire, ready to use Fire Punch. "Don't just stand there with your maw open, fire something out of it!" he elbowed his friend.

"Right!" Feral readied another high-power Water Gun—but was brutally tackled from behind by a dark absol's Double Edge.

Ursa yelped and quickly nailed the thing with a good punch, pushing it away. "Where the heck—?"

"You probably don't realize it," the man said, jumping away from the tree as Neige tried to hit him with an Ice Beam, "but there are countless troubles happening around the world right now."

"If that were true, we would've sensed it!" objected Yena, still charging after him.

The man struck away poor little Willow with a spiked ball when she tried to use Fire Wheel against him. "'Would' and 'should' are two different terms," he pointed out.

"So you're blocking our abilities, is that it?" Netsui roared, punching away a spiked ball. "(Ow.)"

"Maybe," the man said. Suddenly, he stopped moving, surrounded by a pink aura.

''That's enough!'' Mew announced. She had teleported along until she got the chance to grab him. She set up a dense Barrier around her, which protected from numerous attacks from different shadowy pokémon. The sky above her began to grow darker and darker. ''Get out of here now, before I crush you into putty,'' she threatened.

The man paused. "...Really, now."

Mew found herself unable to release him, now. _''What_ the—?'' She felt her power waning...

A spiked ball floated up by the man, who floated up, himself. The ball was arcing with white lightning that seemed to pull in the pink aura around him and Mew. "You fell into this easier than expected, Mew," the man sneered, finally showing some emotion.

Mew couldn't move. Her Barrier was thinning. ''Let me GO!'' 'This is what happened to him, too! Shit, shit, SHIT!'

_"Get away from her, you monster!"_ Netsui roared even louder, flying up to meet him with a Dragon Claw. She missed—only to be blasted by attacks and spiked balls. _"UWWAAAUGH!"_

"I'm the monster? You forget what you all are?" the man asked monotonously again. Netsui landed hard on the ground below. _"You_ stay away from _me,_ you pest."

"Urgh...M...Mew..." Netsui grunted, struggling to get up.

Every attack that the others aimed at the figure were deflected or dodged, and the other shadowy pokémon, hard to see in the darkness, preyed on them constantly. Mew just got weaker and weaker.

"Netsui, you okay?" Yena asked, stopping by her and offering a paw.

Netsui looked up and saw his concerned face. He was crouching on his hind legs. She nodded and grabbed his paw, getting up. "Thank you, Yena..." she grunted, holding her front, where she'd been gashed pretty badly. "Ugh...I need a Center..."

"She does, more," Yena pointed at him. "What's he doing? How does he have this power?"

Netsui realized that she was almost directly below him, and could see up his mantle. It was still too dark, but it was light enough that she noticed something odd...something green and shiny. She shushed Yena and stayed there, quiet, for a bit, crouching.

"Almost there..." the man chuckled. "Soon, you'll be just like your friend, but worse. Nobody can help you—they can try, sure, but I doubt they can succeed."

Mew, world growing darker for her, Barrier all but gone, weakly glanced around and down, and around again, noting Netsui. ''Why...?'' she asked weakly.

"To ensure _someone_ succeeds," replied the figure.

Netsui grunted and took off as fast as she could, soaring up at him from below.

''And who might that be?'' Mew asked, trying to distract him. 'C'mon, Netsui!' she thought. '...Oh yeah, wait, I'm—' _''OSU!''_ she sent to her with her last bit of strength.

Netsui felt the bolstering energy from her friend and climbed at top speed, readying a Dragon Claw once more.

"None of your business," the man admonished. "Now, then, this should be it—"

CRASH! Netsui broke through the last-minute barrier of spike balls and slashed away at the green orb she saw, breaking it into pieces. In an instant, the power-sucking stopped, and Mew fell to earth along with a bloody Netsui. The figure cursed and floated back a bit. "I was careless!" he spat before a cloud of darkness and thorns overtook him. His pokémon vanished into nothingness, as did his spiked balls.

Netsui landed hard again, fainting on impact. "Mew!" Yena barked, running towards her falling form. He slid and caught her on his back. "Gotcha!" He stopped and gently slid her off, looking at her. "You okay?" he asked gently.

Mew creaked her eyes open, world swimming, barely able to see. "~I...I...thanks...Yen...a...~" she breathed before fainting, too.

By then, the Heartless had begun to rain down, as it was in Nightsky City at the same time. "Guys, we've still got company," warned Feral, blasting back a Shadow with Water Gun.

"These guys are no good! We've gotta protect Netsui and Mew!" Ursa asserted, Fire Punching away.

"Bring them together and keep an eye on them," instructed Neige as she Ice Beamed some. "And keep them warm!"

"I'm on that," grunted Willow, still bleeding from the spiked ball as she limped over to the two fallen females.

"I've got medicine, but we're out of revives!" a sawk in Pokédan uniform reported, running from the house with an armful of different kinds of potions. "I forget if we can use these with fainted pokémon or not..."

"They don't! Grab bandages, we need to help their bleeding!" Neige barked. "Hurry!"

The sawk skidded, groaning, but turned and ran back inside.

The Pokédan defended themselves and the two unconscious ones, bandages being wrapped around Willow and Netsui, until the same thing happened to them that happened to the others around the Pokémon world...sink in gunk or fall in sky.

***/FLASHBACK!***

**~Cheer Base~**

"When I came to, I was here in this world," Yena finished. "I saw the others there with me, thankfully. I'm so glad that Mew and Netsui are okay, too."

''That man absorbed a fair bit of my power,'' Mew said, ''but not permanently.'' 'Unlike a certain someone...' ''Give me a couple days, and I'll be able to teleport squads again.''

"But yeah—so now you know," Netsui nodded, holding a paw up. "They healed us after we got here, apparently, and put us to bed. Same with you guys, I bet."

"So now what?" asked Travis, crossing his arms and tilting his head. "We're stuck in a different world, our homes are gone, and we've still got work to do..."

"Well, we can start by getting to bed," Chieftain suggested. He pointed to a clock. It was 10:02. "It's getting late, and we should get up early tomorrow. After all," he shrugged, raising an eyebrow at the motley crew about him, "you never know what'll happen in _this_ line of work."

* * *

><p><em>*Though I said Travis would be referred to as Wolf from that point on, this only applies when he's in full uniform, or unless someone's addressing him as such, like with his friends.<em>

~Author's Note~

Yikes, 31 pages? Did NOT realize this would take so long, both in length and time! Sorry, so so sorry for this! I just wanted to get these guys outta the way with so we can get back to actual story. I didn't want to leave loose ends like that and just explain it away. (Ironically, though, the EBA's recap was going to end at Starr's line to fight, with Foxx giving a short recap, but it just didn't feel right, so...yeah. ADHD'd at night. (It's 2:23 A.M. Now.) I don't know if I'll get another chapter done before break is over (I know I won't if I get Skyward Sword tomor—today, since it's mah birthday—21!), but hey, finally got to this thing that's been waiting the better part of a semester to finish. The scene I used for the song was what really got me, seeing as I have no social skills, let alone understanding of relationships. So I just winged it after looking at ideas I jotted down.

ANYWAY yeah, **voting is still going on for which world you wanna see Maru go to next!** Is it Paris, France (to be renamed once I see the title "La Cité des Cloches" in the English game)? Or Devil's Bayou (from _The Rescuers_)? YOU DECIDE!

Ugh—it's late. I shouldn't be up this late. I need to get to bed. I'm wrapping this up NAO. So I'm sorry if there are any typos or anything, but I'm just posting this NOW so you guys can be happy. Sorta. Even though it's not Ash. Which I know is all you're interested in given the massive amount of people who liked Chosen One compared to the main story. T_T But yeah, consider it a reverse birthday present I hope you enjoyed!

EDIT: Added the image Mew sent to Netsui when asked to get off her head. Noticed it when scanning through my stories last night. How _could_ you, FF dot net?

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

***Mew is in her room, shared with Netsui, both sitting on their beds (Mew's far bigger than herself-she could sleep on the pillow alone)***

**Netsui:** Hoo...Waking up just to go back to sleep sounds so silly...But after learning about what happened to Kioshi and everyone, I feel kinda tired. I bet they feel worse, after having to re-explain it. **(Kioshi had mentioned that they'd recapped things for Travis earlier.)** And then there was the replay with Travis and his friends...

**Mew:** *rolls eyes* ~Yeah, talk about an infodump...~

***Both girls chuckle, then abruptly stop and give a half-eyed sideways glance at the closet***

…

**FT: ***pops out of closet, shivering from Wisconsin cold and frowning* _I said I'm sorry, already!_ XC

**Mew:** ~If you're really sorry, then you'll get your ass on the next chapter straight away.~

**FT:** I've got a ton of stuff to do over break already! I can't guarantee that!

**Netsui:** *fist to palm, glare*

**FT:**O_O Uh...I'm hiding behind my computer where you can't get me ha ha **_bye!_** *scrams back into closet, followed by a spirit-flaming Netsui*


	8. AMO04: Especial Unevents

a little bit

A door whirred open to allow through a figure in a tentacruel-masked mantle into a square, metal-tiled room. A few consoles of some sort were set up against the walls. One wall was made of glass. A shorter, like-dressed figure, standing in front of this glass wall, looked up as the first came in.

Stop. "What is the progress?"

Crossed arms. "Things are coming along nicely—about 69% by now."

Look to the glass. "...How can you tell? I thought you were..."

"I was told by another."

"...Oh."

The shorter figure flicked its wrist. A cane extended and clicked on the floor. "I should return to my own duties, as should you." It left out another doorway.

The taller figure crossed its own arms. "I'm still not sure what to think of you, Bravest Soldier," he murmured. He stepped closer to the glass. "Or..."

Behind the glass, a grand machine stood in the center of a huge, round, white room, arms of metal moving in and out of the mechanism.

* * *

><p><strong>Piece 4: Destiny Islands<strong>

Day 8

The next day came, and Ash awoke to find a tray of food bearing some breakfast by his bed. He happily ate it, then found a bathroom inside the shack and used it. There was a sink with running water, but nothing like a shower or bathtub. Frowning that he'd have to smell like an ape, Ash shrugged, got his clothes on (with a fresh change of underwear), and went outside to start the new day.

He found Sora and the others in the same spot. Kairi looked up and waved. "Morning, Ash!" she called.

"Good morning!" he called back. "Thanks whoever brought me breakfast! It was great!"

Kairi smiled. "That would be me, and no problem!" she answered. Ash came over and stretched. "Sora wants to see you," she mentioned.

"Hm?" He turned and yelped as another wooden sword was tossed at him. He managed to catch it this time, though.

"Ready to start training?" Sora asked, smiling. He had his own toy sword ready.

Ash raised his eyebrows, then grinned and nodded. "Ready!" he said. He and Sora left to a little cove in the shade. There, he and Sora began.

*****RECEIVED Wooden Sword*****

_A wooden toy weapon perfect for practicing swordplay._

The day pretty much went on like this for all of it. They had breaks, lunch, and Ash spent some time having fun exploring the island. But he spent a fair amount training. Sad fact of the matter was, though, that although he _did_ get a lot better, he still wasn't very good. Despite this, he kept at it, since it helped to keep his mind off of Pikachu and his other friends. So as not to lose them, he'd put his badges in his backpack, and kept his backpack around wherever he went—except while fighting. While he never went anywhere without all his badges, he knew that his bag would only hinder him.

Ash also decided to take a few shots at fighting the other people on the island, except Riku, who he knew...wouldn't be very fun. He lost against all of them, unsurprisingly, but didn't let it dampen his spirits. "I've just got to try harder, that's all!" he told himself.

At last, the sun dipped and dyed the sky red. Ash sighed and lay underneath the tree holding the treehouse while he viewed it. Nearby, Sora, Riku, and Kairi decided to watch from the beach, sitting in the sand.

Since they were out of earshot, Sora asked, "What if he _does_ get a Keyblade?"

Riku and Kairi shrugged. "If he does, he does," Riku replied. "He wouldn't get anywhere without a Gummi Ship...as we're living proof..."

Sora frowned, worried. "Sorry to say, but he totally stinks at swordsmanship," he said. "If he was given the chance to try and find his friends, he'd fail pretty quickly. After working with him all day, I've seen he's got humongous amounts of energy and determination, but he's not that strong, nor is he very good at swordfighting itself. He's probably better off telling his pokémon friends what to do instead of fighting on his own..."

Kairi held up a finger. "Remember, Sora, you weren't all that much better than he was when you first got the Keyblade," she reminded him. "You had a lot more _talent_, sure, but you weren't that _skilled_. You just got really good from fighting _tons_ of Heartless."

Sora sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know, but..." He trailed off, looking at the waves absently.

For a few moments, all that could be heard were the waves lapping against the shore. Then, a soft sound of something scraping against the sand occurred. Kairi, closest to the direction of the noise, barely heard it. She turned her head and squinted. "What the...?" She leaned over, trying to see around the cliff that acted as a corner of the island, then gasped. "Well, I'll be—" She stood up.

"What?" Sora looked up at her. "What is—huh?" He had leaned over and seen what she did. He stood up, too.

Riku joined the party and stood up as well. "Where's the fire?" he joked, then looked. "Oh."

Sora walked forwards a little, then stopped and gasped slightly as what he saw began to move.

A shaking figure got up onto what appeared to be its hands and knees. It slowly, arms rattling, got into the position, then, carefully, brought a leg up under it and began to try and stand up. It tried...but fell back to the sand, barely catching itself with an arm. After an effort, it eventually stood up, very unstable and forced. It slowly stepped one foot forward, then another. A very, very weak voice was heard:

_'_ '...sh..._ease_..._re _you...' '

The figure slipped and fell down again. Even slower, it got back up once more.

Sora and friends looked at each other, then Sora slowly walked forwards again. When he saw the figure up close, he gasped fully. _"Whoa!"_ he shouted in surprise.

Ash, who'd been dozing for a moment, snapped his head up at this. He saw the three standing and looking at something. "Huh?" He got up and jumped down from the ledge the tree was on, beginning to walk towards them.

The figure, meanwhile, was up again. It brought its head up and looked around. ' '...eel...ere..._lp_...' '

Sora held his head. "It's...It's talking to me in my head!" he realized. Then he saw the figure completely collapse. "Whoa, hey!" he cried, running over to it. He bent down and picked up the figure gently. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The figure blearily opened an eye and looked up at Sora. ' '...A...ere's...' ' It let out a grunt, fighting to keep its eye open. It was breathing hard.

Sora frowned, puzzled. "I can't understand you," he said. "You look hurt. Please, just rest or something!"

Surprisingly, the figure brought up an arm and pushed off Sora's helping hand. ' '...o...eed...find...m...' ' The voice sounded croaky and faint.

Ash got over to Riku and Kairi. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Someone just washed up on shore," Kairi pointed.

"Hm?" Ash leaned to look, then froze. "...What the..." He ran forward, then, seeing the figure closer, exclaimed, _**"NO WAY!"**_

Sora looked up and saw Ash racing towards him. "Do you recognize this thing?" he asked.

Ash skidded to a halt and took the figure in his arms from Sora. "Are you hurt? What's wrong?" he asked with such deep worry it impressed the Keyblader.

Weakly, the figure opened its eyes and looked up. It gasped. ' '...A...' ' it weakly sent. ' 'I..._nd_...ou...Ash...' ' It finally fainted.

Ash gaped in shock and amazement. "I can't believe it," he breathed. "I thought...I thought..."

Kairi and Riku joined Sora, and the latter knelt down and asked, "Is this one of your friends, Ash? Or...one of those pokémon?"

Ash gulped and nodded. "Both," he replied softly, and looked at Sora. "One I saw sacrifice itself before my very eyes."

The figure was that of a dog-like creature, with blue and black fur and a blue, slightly jagged tail. It had a cream-colored front and a spike on its chest and on the backs of its front paws. On its head, which resembled that of a jackal, were four black, dreadlock-like appendages. It was a pokémon Ash knew very well.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

**~The Lanes Between~**

Maru came onto the bridge, stretching. "The cabins here are not bad," he muttered, "though I wish they had a hammock instead of a mattress..."

"Mornin', Maru!" chirped Figment from his seat. "You ready to get to our first world?"

Maru frowned. "Yeah, but...I still can't decide which one to go to..." he murmured.

"~Well, why not flip a coin?~" suggested Elliott, looking back from watching out the window. "~There's only two worlds, right?~"

"True, but..." Suddenly, the ship's dashboard began to emit a sound akin to a cell phone ringing. Maru raced over and saw "Call Incoming" on the screen. He touched it, and an image of Merlin appeared onscreen. "Oh! Merlin!" Maru raised his eyebrows.

Merlin tapped the screen. "I-Is this thing working? Maru?" he asked quite loudly.

Maru chuckled. 'Old people and technology...' "Yes, Merlin, I can hear you fine," he reported.

Merlin nodded, satisfied, though still wary of the device. "Alright..." He cleared his throat, then spoke in an indoor voice. "Maru, I know you're busy with your quest and all, but I thought you might want a little practice fighting with a group. Perhaps spending a day getting acquainted with the way your comrades fight is in order before setting off for another world...?"

Maru raised his eyebrows. 'That would be perfect, actually,' he thought, glancing at Elliott, who gave him a quizzical look back. 'I've seen Figment fight, but not Elliott...' He looked back at the monitor, nodding. "I'd appreciate that, thank you," he said.

Merlin smiled. "Good! Then come on down here; I've got a special spell prepared for this kind of thing," he said. The image blipped out, the call ending.

Maru nodded and got into the pilot's seat, cracking his knuckles. "Alright, you two, we're going to do some team training," he informed, manipulating the controls to land at Radiant Garden again. "Get ready!"

"Really? What about going to a new world?" Figment asked, a little disappointed.

"Would you rather we end up getting into a bad situation because we can't work together?" Maru asked back, raising an eyebrow.

Figment paused a moment, then nodded, defeated.

**~Radiant Garden~**

Maru, Figment, and Elliott appeared in Merlin's house, blinking into existence at the place where Merlin had set up a save disc. Merlin looked over his shoulder from the massive computer in his room, smiling happily. "Ah, you did get my message! I was afraid I'd hit that button too soon," he said.

Maru nodded, stepping over. "What is this spell you mentioned?" he asked.

Merlin produced his wand. "It's a spell that allows you to relive your greatest battles," he explained. "I was planning on having you three relive yesterday's battle, but as you are now, so that you can get a feel for how each of you works."

Maru raised his eyebrows. "That sounds interesting...and a good idea." He turned to the dragons. "Figment? Elliott? Are you two ready for combat?"

Figment nodded readily, but Elliott gulped before nodding.

"Don't worry, Elliott," assured Merlin, batting a hand and smiling. "This is only an illusion—you won't _really_ get hurt. If you all get defeated, you'll simply return here, and you can try again. As well, I'll be tweaking the spell to have the battle be gentler, at least at first." He let out a small hoot. "Hoo! That was quite the experience!"

Maru grinned. "You have no idea..." He nodded. "Merlin, we're ready," he said. (Elliott raised his eyeridges at this in slight alarm.)

Merlin waved his wand, shapes and sparkles appearing from the end. "In that case, off you go!" he said before the three vanished in light and shapes.

When they reappeared, they were in the Great Maw, scads of Heartless facing them. The trio drew their weapons, the dragons looking intimidated. "This is only a simulation—we're here to train," Maru assured them firmly. "We're safe. Just fight as well as you can—" he hesitated, "—together."

"Right!" Figment nodded. He readied a card.

"~O-Okay,~" Elliott gulped. He set his face determinedly and got into a defensive stance.

"Then let's begin!" Maru cried. The Heartless came upon them.

They spent their entire day training as such. By the end of it, Maru felt he understood how Figment and Elliott worked. Figment was much more of a ranged, magic-based fighter, while Elliott was a tank. The dragons were able to gain some experience, growing to about level 5 by the end of it, Maru sensed. They were much less afraid of the concept of fighting by the end, too. Maru spent most of his time observing them, staying out of their way so they could gain more experience, so he didn't level up, himself. "If they have to stick with me, I can't have them dying on me," he muttered.

"Well, that's one way of looking at it," Navi murmured.

Whenever they needed a break, they called out to Merlin and he brought them back to rest, them vanishing and reappearing much the same way as before. Before they stopped for the day, during their fifth total visit to the Great Maw, Maru announced, "I think that is enough for today. Let's get back on the ship and rest. We still have a world to get to tomorrow." The dragons heartily agreed.

"You three look stronger already," commented Merlin when they returned. "Do you understand one another well, too?"

The three looked at one another, then nodded. "I think so," Maru said. "We get each other's fighting styles enough that we won't utterly fall apart during the real thing."

"Good! Now, it's getting a little late, so you three go off to your ship, now," Merlin shooed, smiling.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Figment breathed exasperatedly as he turned and walked to the save disc. He cleared his throat. "Beam me up, Scotty!" He vanished in a flash of light.

"~See you, Merlin!~" waved Elliott as he went into the save disc and beamed up, too.

Maru bowed. "Thank you very much, Merlin," he said. "I'll take you up on that offer to fight my past foes again, someday."

"My pleasure, Maru," Merlin smiled. "Now, off you go, your friends are waiting for you."

Maru looked over his shoulder. "...They're not my—" he began quietly before suddenly gasping, eyes widening. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end again. "Heartless...?" He turned and dashed outside.

"W-_Wait!"_ Merlin called, reaching after.

Outside, Maru looked around carefully. "They're here, I can feel it...but where?" he muttered.

He heard a flapping. A big flapping. A shadow with a peculiar, familiar shape appeared on the ground. He looked up as something large and black fell to the ground with a slam. Maru took a step back.

It appeared to be a dragon of sorts, standing at about four feet tall. It had a long, hooked snout that appeared to have no line for the mouth when closed, bearing only one large, wide fang at the corners. It looked as if it wore a big, blue, bat-winged mask over its Heartless eyes. Medium-length, shaggy, dark gray hair came from atop its skull. Its smooth scales were black, the hide dark gray, and the chest, lower legs, and forearms were wrapped in silver. As well, a small tuft of dark gray hair sprouted from the top of its chest. Red markings were on its chest and kneecaps, and its stomach bore the Heartless emblem. Its very basic wings were rather colorful, mostly purple with green and red. It had three pointed fingers on each hand-like forepaw and three purple-clawed toes on each feline-like hind paw. A long, arrow-tipped tail came from behind it.

But its most distinguishing feature was the arms. They were enormous—thick and long. It could likely swing around like a gorilla if it tucked up its normal-length (but powerful) legs.

The draconic Heartless stared at Maru intently before lurching forwards, reeling back a white-glowing fist. Maru grunted and dodged away quickly, realizing why the beast had such large arms. They gave it an impressive reach, and they sure weren't made of molasses. They hit Merlin's house, making it shake hard and leaving an indent in the side. The shockwave also made a hexagon barrier in front of the door ripple—Maru must have been locked in, he realized, looking at the barrier around other exits. Maru got behind it and attacked it with a combo. It swung its tail around, smacking the psychic away painfully. Maru got some distance between him and it, and found out it was still relatively slow because of its bulk. It was just faster than it looked. He avoided a slash from white-glowing claws.

It tried to attack with slams and charges, mainly, using its great bulk to try and beat Maru. It didn't fly again. Maru, in turn, fought with quickness and skill. He was able to use Slashfest on it, and did so. He still got hurt a lot, though—the thing was pretty wild and strong.

Regardless, Maru eventually got the thing down to a sliver of its health. He was about to attack again when, suddenly, he felt a strong chance in the Keyblade. He hadn't yet this entire fight. "Eh?" He looked at it and froze.

He was holding a black, eye-shaped-buttoned pokéball. His Keyblade had turned into one of his old Monster Balls from New Island.

"No...No way..." he breathed, bringing it up to his face to look. "I...This...It...Does this mean that...?" Over the ball, he looked at the beast...which was charging right at him. He gasped as it quickly grabbed him around his body, staring right into him as it lifted the purple-haired fighter. Maru then realized how natural it looked compared to the other Heartless...Thought about how some of its attacks glowed a familiar white light...

Thought about how he now ever so faintly felt something inside of it, something familiar...

He wasted no more time. Before the beast tore him apart, or threw him down, or slammed him against the wall, or _ate_ him, Maru kicked it in the jaw, making it drop him, then jumped aside, narrowing his gaze with determination. He raised the ball high, then tossed it up and spun around left. He used telekinesis to grab the ball and spin it around him in the opposite direction. "Monster Ball..." He grabbed the ball with his hand as he passed it, stopped the telekinesis, and, with one last left spin, finally threw it, all of this in nearly a single, fluid movement. _"...GO!"_

The Monster Ball screamed through the air, spinning and radiating a strange black energy Mewtwo didn't remember ever coming from them when they flew out to capture the Trainers' pokémon so long ago. The ball struck the Heartless and stopped in midair, turning and opening up, like any normal pokéball. However, instead of red energy capturing the Heartless, it was violet energy laced with light and darkness swirling about the beam. The Heartless slowly went inside the ball. When it finally got all the way in, the ball snapped shut with a subtle small burst of black and white sparks. It fell down and began to wiggle around. Maru held his breath, watching avidly as the red light pulsed and the ball moved back and forth. (And he didn't have any controller with him to try one of many rumored tricks for capturing easier.)

It felt like forever, but it was only a few seconds. Finally, the well-known soft _puuun_ emitted from the ball as the light faded and the ball went still. Maru blinked, then smiled. He held up a fist. "Gotcha," he whispered, and then pointed his fist at the ball. "I caught...a Heartless."

Suddenly, the ball glowed bright, entirely whiting over, and a huge heart burst out from it, floating up to the sky and away. The ball remained, however, and Maru walked over and picked it up.

*****Maru caught a Heartless-pokémon!*****

He felt darkness within...but it was tamed darkness. As if he'd just caught an enormously evil pokémon, but it had somewhat given up as soon as it realized it was captured. Thoughtfully, Maru held the ball out. "Come out," he commanded in a curious tone. The ball opened up and, in the traditional white flash of light, with an additional brief ring of white from the ball, the Heartless reappeared.

But it was still. It didn't move. Well, until it looked about, then around and a little up at Maru. It looked expectant.

Maru smirked. "I see you are mine, now," he said. He chuckled. "Don't worry..."

He looked into the vibrant, glowing green, snakelike eyes. He also noticed the Heartless emblem was replaced by a new design on its stomach. He could faintly see a pulse on its neck. "...You won't do any evil anymore."

The Heartless bowed its head, then whipped its head up and let out a roar. It was proud, free, deep, and fierce. Maru smiled and held the ball up. "We'll fight sometime, don't worry," he assured him (as he decided from the pitch of its voice). "For now, though, return." The red beam shot out and took him, and then the changed Heartless went back into his ball. Maru smiled, then shrank the ball and put it in his pocket. 'I can't believe it...these things can capture Heartless just like pokémon! Or at least, mine can...' He wondered something, then called the Keyblade. It came, and he checked his pocket. Yep, still there. He gave a thoughtful smirk as he dismissed his weapon.

"M-_Maru!"_

"Hm?" Maru turned to see Merlin standing outside his door, looking very worried.

"Are you alright? I-I saw the whole thing!" Merlin said, waving his arms. "I daresay I've never seen anything like that before, neither the Heartless, nor that ability of the Keyblade!"

Maru looked at the ball again. He noticed a keyhole design had formed about the button, the round part being, of course, being around the button itself. "Huh..." He looked up again. "It appears he was actually a pokémon, a creature from my world," he said slowly, thoughtful. "But when I fought him, he was definitely a Heartless...I think..." He felt his chest. "I felt...something familiar when he grabbed me...Could that have been a heart, bathed in darkness, hidden from the world?"

Merlin frowned in thought. "Mmmm...Perhaps," he nodded. He beckoned, and Maru followed him back into the house. "Come on, those dragons are probably wondering if you're trying to escape them by looking for another ship!"

Maru's face brightened. "There's another ship I can use?" he asked, smirking.

Merlin laughed and smacked him on the back. "A sense of humor! Oh, there's hope for you, yet!"

"Eh?"

"N-Nothing..."

When Maru returned to the ship, Figment was tapping his foot impatiently at the "airlock", the room the door they leave out of is in. Elliott was standing there, holding his tail in worry, but he looked relieved when Maru came in. Figment crossed his arms, frowning. "Where have you _been_, young man?" he scolded. "We've been waiting a whole five minutes for you! We thought you'd try and find another ship or something!"

Maru shook his head. "I detected Heartless outside, so I fought," he explained. "Come to the bridge—I want to show you something..."

Maru released the Heartless-pokémon, and Figment and Elliott both yelped and stepped back. "~What the—?~" Elliott squeaked.

"Are you _nuts?"_ Figment screeched at Maru, pointing at the creature. "That's a _Heartless_ you've got there!"

At this, the Heartless-pokémon turned around, looking blankly at them. Navi came out of Maru's collar and claimed, "He followed me home. I'm just too shiny."

Figment snorted, shaking his head. Elliott, meanwhile, looked at the creature's eyes. After a moment, he visibly relaxed. "~I think he's alright,~" he said to Figment.

"Eh?" Maru translated for Figment, who raised an eyeridge and looked at him. After a moment, he frowned and nodded. "Yeah, I think I see whatcha mean...I mean...Heartless don't have anything but hollows for eyes, so..."

Maru stepped over to the beast, who looked at him. "I'm going to train you," he told it. He placed a hand on his scaly arm, smiling at him. "I don't know what you are, exactly, but something tells me you're a pokémon..." 'Like me...' "...and I want you to help us...to help you get stronger. You understand?"

It took a long moment, but the creature blinked and nodded slowly. Maru smiled and patted him. "Good. I'm honored to be your Trainer."

"~Can you speak?~" Elliott wondered, tilting his head at him.

The creature just stared blankly back at him. Elliott bit his lip and stepped back, unnerved.

"He can, just...well, not _speak-_speak," Maru explained. He looked thoughtfully at him. "...You need a name."

"**Schwarz!"** Figment cried almost instantly, smiling.

Maru looked at him with wide eyes. "You been waiting to say that all day, or something?" Navi marveled in slight sarcasm.

Figment shook his head. "Nah, just since I laid eyes on him," he replied. "I always think about what would be a good name for stuff when I look at 'em. Heartless, too! Too bad they already have names..."

"Well, I doubt _'schwarz'_ is the name of his species," Maru muttered, looking at him over his shoulder. "But I know what you mean here...I think..." He turned the name over in his head, arms crossed. _"'Schwarz'_ is German for 'black'...obviously the color sprang to Figment's mind," he murmured to himself. "It's a basic name, but...it _does_ have a nice ring to it...but..."

Figment could see that Maru wasn't exactly satisfied with the name. The little guy looked at the creature, frowning in thought. "...Stark? German for 'strong'?"

"Hm? Um..." Maru thought about that.

"...Noir?"

"...Nah, not really him—"

"Then how about something meaning 'big', since he looks pretty big? Magnus? Didelis? Malaki? Goljam? Kbir? Iso? Ulaxan? Bozorg? Gran—"

"Whoawhoawhoa—what was that sixth one? Fourth-to-last?" Maru stopped him, blinking in amazement at the dragon's vocabulary. "And do you have Wiktionary inside your _head_ or something?"

"No, I just memorized every language known to man because then, you've got a lotta cool things you can name characters," Figment explained, smiling brightly. "And you mean 'iso'?"

"Yeah, what language is that, again?" Maru crossed his arms.

"Finnish."

"Really?" Maru looked at the beast, who looked back at him, head tilted very slightly. "I was thinking about how it means 'eye' in Zulu...and perhaps...maybe how he's isolated from other Heartless, being a real living creature..." He nodded. "Do you like the name 'Iso'?" he asked him.

The beast paused another moment. He blinked a couple times as he stared at Maru. Then, slowly, he nodded again.

Maru smiled and patted him again. "Then your nickname shall be 'Iso'," he declared. Iso just looked at him still. Maru frowned at this behavior. "Why do you keep staring...?" he muttered.

It was then that he realized there was a malevolently purple aura around Iso. He hadn't looked hard before, but now he was close, he could just see it. He cranked up that psychic power, then jerked back. The aura was flaming around Iso! "What on—?" Maru gasped. It looked familiar to him...He raised his eyebrows. "A...A Shadow Pokémon? I thought that all of them were taken care of in Orre...!"

"Huh?" Figment and Elliott both went, raising an eyeridge.

Maru nodded resolutely. "Iso, I _swear_ I'll help you, now," he promised. "Your heart is still locked away within you, covered in darkness, closed tight..." Maru clenched a fist. "I'll open it up, and then you'll really be free!"

He swore he saw the faintest flash in Iso's eyes.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

**~Cheer Base~**

The day was rather uneventful for the cheer squads. The normal Ouendan trained a little, as did the EBA-P. The normal EBA was busy with various things Commander Khan asked, and Khan himself remained unseen by the new squads. The Pokédan spent most of the day resting—Mew and Netsui in particular.

One member, however, had a very busy day. The sawk, dressed in his normal white _gi_, sat in his room, sewing kit and damaged uniforms around him. By the late afternoon, he had finished repairing everyone's uniforms...except for one. He had been taking a break, sitting cross-legged on his bed and meditating, when a knock came at his door. "Come in," he called, looking up.

Netsui opened the door, naked save for the worn baseball cap on her head. She smiled sheepishly as she walked in with her uniform in her other arm. "Hey, Sobat," she greeted.

Sobat smiled and held a hand up. "Netsui-hancho," he greeted back, tenor voice calm. He looked at the bundle in her arm and raised his large left eyebrow. "I was wondering when you'd ask me to repair yours..."

Netsui nodded, closing the door behind her. "Yes—it got rather hurt when we fought that jerk," she agreed. She gave the folded clothes to the sawk. "I'm...really sorry, Sobat," she apologized, bowing and blushing.

Sobat chuckled and shook his head. "Hey, my job's the team seamster," he dismissed it. He held up a piece of uniform—and paled as he saw the massive tears, bloodstains, and other bits of damage to the fabric. There were even a few burn holes! _"Sa-ah...!"_ he squeaked.

Netsui sweatdropped and put a paw behind her head, brow knit in worry. "Eh-heh-heh...that's why I'm sorry..." She looked away. "If I'd only fought better..."

Sobat bit his lip, looking at the other article, then sighed. "Netsui-hancho, it's alright," he assured his leader. "You're only mortal. That man was beyond anything we were prepared to fight."

"Yeah..." Netsui said, looking away. She thought of Mew, currently lying in bed, sleeping. "Not even Mew was ready...She's still trying to recover her energy..."

Sobat looked at the uniform again, frowning. "Hrmmm...There's an awful lot of damage here," he stated. "I'm sorry, but..." He hesitated and gulped, half-eyeing. "...We're going to have to make you a new uniform."

Netsui bit her lip, putting a paw to her mouth. "Oh, Sobat...I'm so sorry..." she murmured.

Sobat shook his head, looking at the uniform still. "Not to worry," he assured, holding a hand up. "They have machines here that can sew seams in seconds. I should be able to learn how to use them. That'll make life much easier." He got onto the floor and went to his sewing kit. "I should say sorry, though, Netsui-hancho—you're going to have to stay here. I lost your measurements in the storm of darkness." He extracted a roll of measuring tape.

Netsui sighed and nodded. "I understand. And don't worry, my sandals are fine." She stepped to the middle of the room.

Sobat chuckled. "Good, those were a pain to make."

Netsui stood still, looking down at her naked self. "...You know, it feels strange to go around naked after wearing clothing for so long," she noticed.

Sobat, tossing a pencil and pad onto the bed, nodding. "I don't think half a month is 'long', but I do understand," he agreed. He unrolled a length of tape. "(Hold up your arms, please.) Sawk and throh wear clothing their whole lives, practically, removing them only when needed." He measured around her waist.

Netsui, crossing her arms, nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah; I always thought full clothing was a pain, especially when you gotta go, but it's not as bad as I'd thought," she described. She paused, then chuckled. "I bet not having fur kinda helps, though."

Sobat smirked as he pinched the tape together, getting the measurement before turning to his pad and scribbling it down. "So glad I learned how to read and write Human," he muttered. "(Waist—check.)"

Netsui frowned. "You know, you never told me where you learned to sew," she noticed.

Sobat returned and went behind her, raising his small right eyebrow. "Really? That's (lift your tail, please?) surprising," he replied. "Well, we have to get our uniforms _some_how, don't we? Us sawks and throhs, I mean."

"True," Netsui nodded.

Sobat jotted down her tail base's measurements, then returned to her. He took measurements and jotted them, going back and forth as he spoke. "(Tail—check.) Most of us actually inherit the ones our fathers had, some of us steal real uniforms from various (hold still, I'm doing your hips) dojos. I was lucky enough to be _raised_ in a dojo. (Hips—check.) One day, I (stand straight, please, so I can do your leg) accidentally tore my sleeve. The sensei, who took care of me, said it was fine and sewed it up. (Pant length—check.) I thought it was a miracle, and I motioned that I wanted to learn about it. (Raise your arms all the way, please.) I worked on patterns and repairs for most of my life until Mew scouted me out, I came here, and I learned Human. (Chest—check.)"

"Huh...Interesting," Netsui raised her eyeridges, arms out straight.

"Could you give me a lift, please?" Sobat said as he came back again. Netsui complied, letting him step onto her tail as she lifted him up. "I'm still surprised I'm here in a cheer squad instead of a fighting team...fold your wings, please...though I've always had a penchant for music, I suppose." He got his pad out from his belt, where he'd put it for the moment, and scribbled down the measurements from shoulder to wing, from wing to wing, and the size of the wings themselves at thickest. "(Wingholes—check.) I can't help but think I don't quite belong here sometimes..."

Netsui smiled behind her. "But you're excellent, Sobat," she said. "You may still be running on raw talent, but I'm sure you'll get better with more training."

Sobat gave a small, thankful smile back for a moment before making a rotating gesture. "Turn around, neck time."

Netsui turned her head back around. She felt the tape come carefully around her collar. "...Well, we wouldn't look this good without your design skills," she gave. "And we wouldn't be a full team without at least three standard-style leads. Mew said she saw a lot of promise in you, so..."

"Well, Mew helped a lot...and she said that, did she, now?" Sobat asked as he recorded the measurement. "(Neck—check.) Well, I'll keep tryin'."

Netsui chuckled fondly at the memory that pulled up. "Good."

Sobat recorded her shoulders and then her arms, then got down. "Alright, that should be enough," he said, looking up at her. "You can leave now, Netsui-hancho."

Netsui bowed briefly. "Thank you so much, Sobat," she said. "I'm sorry about all this, I really am."

Sobat smiled and waved again. "It's nothing, I can handle it," he assured her. "I'm going to go get the fabric I need. I'm told I can find it around here somewhere..." He walked past her with his pad, nodding at her. "Until next time, Netsui-hancho." He left his room.

Netsui followed after, turning off the light and shutting the door. She went down the halls until she came out at a pool. Around the walls of the room were planters full of grass and trees and flowers. The view outside revealed dust-colored clouds all around. Feral was swimming, Ursa (jacketless but otherwise clothed) was sitting on a planter, reading while munching on a green apple, a dripping-wet Yena was sitting and watching Feral swim as he dried in the window's light, and a few humans were around the pool, hanging out.

Netsui smiled and went to Ursa, sitting next to him. "Hey, Ursa."

Ursa looked and smiled, marking his place. "What's up, Netsui?" he greeted.

"Sobat had to take measurements from me because my uniform was so banged up," she shrugged sheepishly.

Ursa smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Man, you really got hurt pretty bad, there, didn't you?" he asked.

Netsui sighed, sinking her chin onto her paws. "Don't remind me," she grumbled. Ursa laughed, the gruff sounds echoing around the large room.

"What do you think was up with that guy?" asked Feral as he swam up to the edge of the pool, frowning. He growled, shaking a fist. "That jerk was toying with us, I know it..."

Netsui shook her head. "I haven't a clue," she admitted. She narrowed her eyes. "But when we find him again..." A little spiritual fire flared up around her to finish her sentence.

Ursa took another bite of his apple. "Calm down, you two," he admonished. "If we couldn't take care of him before, we won't again. And I doubt we'll be able to surprise him next time."

Netsui's and Feral's faces fell. "True..." Feral muttered. He got out of the water and shook himself dry, Ursa squeaking and shielding his book behind him. "Sorry," Feral chuckled afterward, sitting on the other side of Netsui. "So, Netsui, you're gonna have to go streaking for a bit, huh?" he asked playfully.

Netsui chuckled. "Yeah, guess so." She looked at herself. Most dragonites had a large, round belly that curved to their tails very smoothly. Hers curved like that, as well, but was much smaller; she was quite skinny. This helped immensely with her intense cheering routine, but she couldn't help but wonder at it...and feel a little embarrassed. "I'm so underweight," she chuckled, patting her thin stomach and feeling her strong muscles beneath, hardened from training and spending most her life as a serpent. "I keep hoping I don't run into any male dragonites...I'm sure they'd laugh at me..." Sitting between the two, she recalled that her closest pokémon friends had the same issues with theirs—Feral was much thinner than a feraligatr had any business being if not starving, and Ursa was a bit slimmer than most ursaring. She looked at them out the corners of her eyes.

They noticed and smirked. "Well, hey, at least you're not in danger of being accused of weakness," Ursa shrugged, holding his arms up.

"I don't mind it much, though," Feral shrugged, patting his own middle. "I mean, sure, it'll suck when I get to some cold water, but not much more than normal."

"Besides, we're perfectly suited for cheering like this," added Ursa, holding a claw up and smiling. He frowned. "Though I have no idea how that happened..."

Netsui held her chin for a moment. "...I wonder if it's because we hung out with Kioshi, Suzu, and Hibiki," she wondered. "We had it in our hearts that we wanted to cheer by the time we evolved, so maybe that had something to do with it, too..."

""Maybe,"" Ursa and Feral muttered, crossing their arms and looking at themselves. All three hummed in thought.

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

I originally decided to go back to Ash first and shorten Maru's day because it'd be too long a dramatic pause between Lucario being found and him waking up if Maru went through a whole world in between. (I'm also saving my ass because I still hadn't decided what world to send Maru to next.) However, with the way I'm doing things, a new day means a new Piece, generally. That's why this is an unbelievably short chapter this time around.

Speaking of deciding the world, thanks to someone on the Slightly Damned forums, I have now received another vote for one of the things, meaning I don't have to cheat and decide myself! **That said, voting is now closed. The winner is...**

_**Devil's Bayou!**_

Thank you all so much for voting. I think this might be best, however; it'd be easier for me to rewatch the movie and do something new without fear of intruding on any currently-coming-out games, like the other one would. _(Hunchback_ is gonna be in KH3D, and I still feel ambivalent towards it in terms of my story. I want to at least play through it and figure out how they interpreted the story before I do it.) This'll take a while to do, since I've gotta, well, make the whole thing anew, but you're all used to whiles from me, right? ^^;

Regardless, I also realized that this could be the perfect way to have Maru catch his pokémon. It's not Terroge, it's the pre-ev; go to my dA account if you wanna see what he looks like and what he's called. I didn't think having him caught in another world, his first pokémon, would have been a good idea. Sure, I could've included a fight with one in both worlds, but that'd be a bit of effort, and this was a lot more personal with it being forced one-on-one. Sorry it's so Giant Space Flea from Nowhere, but...heh n_n; The little message that he caught Iso comes in the form of a little box that you press **A** to get out of like in other RPGs, pausing the action (well, putting things in an idle loop) until you do.

I'm not sure I should be posting this now, so close after the last post; I might get people's hopes up for more updates. But hey, I might as well. With all the stuff taking control of my life these days, I don't know what to do with the story sometimes, so sorry if this chapter felt a little wooden.

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

***Maru is walking around the ship with Iso in tow. He walks into Figment's cabin (small, like the other two—just a bed, dresser, desk, and mirror). Figment is there, pencil and ruler in paws and drawing at his desk...with the latter half of the _Inheritence_ cycle helping him reach the desk itself.***

**Maru:** *To Iso* This is where Figment sleeps. *looks and notices drawing. He leans over and looks at it; raises eyebrows at the straight lines and such* What are you working on, there?

**Figment:** *looks up and smiles* Oh, just a little perspective exercise. I'm not very good at backgrounds, so I'm working on some isometric drawings.

***Iso cocks his head over to Figment expectantly, looking into his eyes.***

**Figment:** *pauses, then smiles nervously, waving a paw* Sorry, didn't mean you, Iso. I said "iso_metric_".

***Iso blinks, then looks at Maru again. Later, Maru enters his own cabin.***

**Maru:** *gestures around* This is where I sleep. *notices a glass of water on his desk* Oh, shoot—never put that away...*has a sudden thought; brings out a Pokémon Potion and a Kingdom Hearts/Final Fantasy Potion* Huh...you know what, I've always wondered how these work...what kinds of isotopes they share...They've got to share some...

***Maru turns to see Iso looking quite intently at him, staring into his eyes.***

**Maru:** *pauses, then sweatdrops, waving a hand* Sorry, I didn't mean you, Iso. I said "iso_tope_".

***Iso blinks. Later, Maru enters Elliott's cabin. Elliott is sitting on his bed, cross-legged, twiddling his thumbs, humming to himself. He perks up when he sees Maru—then gulps when he sees Iso.***

**Maru:** *to Iso* And this is where Elliott sleeps. *to Elliott* Hey. I'm showing him around. Hope you don't mind.

**Elliott:** *shakes head* ~Not at all.~ *looks at Iso's tail, then his own, frowning curiously* ~You know, it's strange, isn't it—Figment and I are the plain ol' dragons, but the one with the isosceles is him—oh!~ *looks up at "him" to Iso, then starts*

***Iso is staring at Elliott, gazing into his eyes.***

**Elliott:** *pauses, then knits brow, waving a paw* ~S-Sorry, I didn't mean you, Iso—well, not that way—I said "iso_sceles_"...~

***Iso blinks, then looks at Maru again.***

**Maru:** *blinks at Iso in amazement* You got confused when the word was both pronounced slightly differently _and_ in another language...That's impressive.

**Elliott:** *frowns, mutters and crosses arms* ~I thought you'd be more impressed I even _knew_ that word...~


	9. AM05: Use the Force, Luc! Not You, Luke!

at the bit

On the balcony with metal tiles overlooking the muted field was another figure in a masked mantle. This mask appeared to have a couple of horns in the back. This one crouched on the balcony's wide railing, looking out. Another figure came walking over, making soft clicks against the tiles. This one's mask also bore horns, albeit larger ones.

Turn head. "Hey."

Stop, lean elbows on the rail. A movement in the rear of the mantle. Look at the field. "...Have the others looked at you different?"

Look back out. "No more different than they have you."

"Gee, thanks."

A pause.

"...I...You promise not to say anything to anyone else?"

Look. "With the strength of ten thousand talons."

Movement in the rear of the mantle. "...I...at least think...I'm scared shitless..."

Pause. Nod. "You can be scared with me, if you want."

Look, then away again. "...Thank you..."

Another pause, then a turn, leaving.

"...We're all freaks and demons, but..." Look behind. "...you are the most Magnificent Monster..."

* * *

><p><strong>Piece 5: Destiny Islands<strong>

Day 9

With a groan, the doglike pokémon opened his eyes. He was in a wooden structure somewhere. ' 'Wh...Where...?' ' he asked. Suddenly, he gasped and sat up quickly, shouting a name just like the last inhabitant of the bed he lay on. _' 'Ash!' '_

"I'm right here," said a soft voice to its side. The pokémon looked and let out an enormous sigh of relief. Ash Ketchum had opted to sleep on the floor that night. He smiled and turned to a tray of food. "Kairi brought us some food, if you're hungry," he mentioned.

The pokémon blinked for a second, then shook his head. ' 'This is too much,' ' he muttered. ' 'First we get attacked by those black things, then...' ' He growled and shook his head again, squeezing his eyes tight. ' '...At least I was fortunate enough to find you,' ' he said, opening them again and giving a small smile to Ash.

Ash smiled back. "You wouldn't _believe_ how surprised I was when I saw you, Lucario," he told him. "Do you feel better, by the way? You looked pretty weak."

Lucario nodded and threw off the covers, turning to sit on the bed. ' 'Yes,' ' he replied, ' 'I feel quite re-energized, if just a bit hungry.' ' He looked down and saw some juicy-looking berries on the tray. ' 'Is this for me?' ' he double-checked.

Ash nodded. "Yep!" He reached and got a bowl of cereal for himself, milk already poured. "I told Kairi that you liked eating berries...that's right, right?" he asked, frowning a little. "That's all I saw you eat when we were on our way to the Tree of Beginning."

Lucario nodded, confirming, ' 'Yes, I eat berries.' ' He got off the bed, sat cross-legged on the floor across from Ash, and took a berry. ' '...These are quite good,' ' he commented after chewing one.

Ash grinned. "Kairi must have picked the best ones, or got some from her house." He began to eat his breakfast. "Uhm...Lucario?" he asked after swallowing some cereal.

Lucario looked up. ' 'Yes?' '

Ash lowered his bowl for a second, a sorry look on his face. "I know it's rude to ask you right after you've woken up and while you're eating, but..." He looked a little determined. "Why are you here? I thought you...I thought you _died._ I mean, you and Sir Aaron became bits of light and floated up, then disappeared."

Lucario sighed, putting down the berry he was about to eat. ' 'I was going to tell you anyway, so don't feel you're being rude,' ' he told the human. ' 'I'm really not quite sure about what happened, myself, but...' '

***FLASHBACK!***

_' 'Sir Aaron and I were walking together in the misty world we now inhabited. It was like the world we had left, but in our time, not yours. Cameron Palace and all of the people we knew and loved were there, including the royal family that Sir Aaron and I had worked so hard to defend. We lived their afterlives in peace, and I would like to say our friendship had grown even stronger._

_' 'One 'day,' Sir Aaron and I were out on a walk, enjoying our afterlife's ethereal scenery. We were just returning to the castle's entrance when, suddenly, we both stopped dead...erm, n-no pun intended...' '_

"Do you sense it?" asked Sir Aaron, clutching his staff.

' 'I do,' ' Lucario replied. He closed his eyes and let the 'dreads' fly up as he activated his aura vision. ' 'A feeling of foreboding...' '

"...and aura bending _around_ creatures, instead of the creatures exuding it," Sir Aaron finished. He readied his staff and turned around. "They're coming!" he shouted. "Get ready!"

Lucario didn't need to be told twice. He turned and held up his paws, ready for battle. A moment later, out of thin air, an army of black creatures appeared. Lucario, his eyes opened because aura vision would hinder him in a fight against aura-less beings, gasped. ' 'What are _those_ things?' ' he asked.

Aaron grimaced. "Whatever they are, they're not good," he answered. "They look familiar...but how?..."

The enemies began to attack, and so the two began to fight for their afterlives. Lucario used Aura Sphere, as did Aaron, and his other moves. Aaron swung his staff to beat the beasts away. The two fought valiantly, but they ended up becoming surrounded. Some people had gathered on top of the walls of the castle to watch in horror. They hadn't died with weapons, so they had no way to assist the two brave warriors. (Nobody thought of bringing in their pokémon army.)

Eventually, Aaron and Lucario were back-to-back, grimacing at their situation. Suddenly, Aaron let out a short gasp. "I remember!" he cried. "All those years ago...I remember things similar to these creatures attacking..."

Lucario raised his eyebrows. ' 'I recall it, as well, master!' ' He squinted at the black things in the mist. ' 'They were different, though; men who somehow transformed into hideous monsters. These appeared out of nowhere.''

Aaron nodded. "But they were silent and dark," he described, "and without aura. As well, they vanished when defeated." He whacked one away.

Lucario blasted a quartet that attempted to jump him. ' 'Why are they _here?' '_ he asked. ' 'Aren't we supposed to be _safe_ here?' '

Aaron grimaced and twirled his staff around, beating off a bunch at once, destroying a few. "I thought so, too," he agreed. "It feels like we've just been here a couple months, and already, we must fight enemies! This isn't how I imagined the afterlife to be!"

"That's because this isn't the afterlife."

' '"Huh?"' ' Lucario and Aaron glanced up at the wall of the castle. Standing there was the queen.

She looked very sorry and ashamed. "I'm sorry, Sir Aaron, Lucario," she said, putting a hand to her breast, "but it's just that I didn't want to dampen your spirits after finally reuniting. This world...it's not exactly the afterlife." She spread her arms out. Behind and around her, villagers and other people gasped and murmured in shock.

Lucario gaped. ' 'But Lady Rin...did we not die?' ' he wondered.

Lady Rin looked away. "...Yes, we all did," she answered, "but our spirits are stranded here in this alternate version of the world we left. I and my people have lived lives without need for food or water, but I have known that we live not lives of those who have truly passed on. For this, I apologize."

Aaron grunted as he fended off another shadowy beast. "Pardon my rudeness, Your Highness," he barked, "but could you get to the point and tell us what's going on?"

Lady Rin nodded and turned back to the fighters. "We are in a sort of kind purgatory. We are to remain here until one of us agrees to see to it that our _true_ world, the one we left behind, is safe from the claws of those creatures you fight now." She sighed and looked down at the two. "I was given this warning a long time ago, when we first came here, by what appeared to be the spirit of a mew. It told me that, should our world be taken by any means, this world shall be invaded by 'those without hearts.'"

Aaron and Lucario looked at her, then at the beings around. ' 'So these creatures are truly heartless?' ' Lucario asked. He grappled with one and threw it, sending it back at the others and destroying it and the ones it struck.

Lady Rin nodded. "I suppose so," she answered. "The insubstantial mew said that they will try and capture us, for this world is not invulnrable, like the true afterlife. While the world we lived in remains unharmed, so does this world. However, I suppose something terrible must have just occurred to the world we left behind. I have a horrible feeling that we are going to face an afterlife worse than the underworld if those things succeed..." She frowned in a very worried way.

Lucario grunted as he blocked a hit. ' 'How can we fix this?' ' he asked.

"By finding a way to escape this world and accomplishing what the mew said, which I don't completely understand," she replied, putting a hand to her forehead as she shook it. "It said something about a key..."

Aaron shouted as he was struck down. Everyone cried his name, including Lucario, but the Fighting/Steel type had to defend himself from the beasts. Aaron, down on the ground, rolled onto his back and blocked another attack with his staff. "A key?...Yes! I remember! When those men transformed into those beasts, I remember a giant key appearing in my hand...It seemed like a dream..." He shook his head. "It faded as soon as I'd used it to defeat them. But that's the only key that I know of that is obviously special..." He tried to get up, but another beast struck him back down, causing him to yell again.

Lucario roared and used his aura powers to summon up aura and send it out as a shockwave, blowing back the entire ring of monsters temporarily. He ran to Aaron and helped him up. ' 'Aaron! You're going to be fine!' ' he assured firmly.

Aaron smiled and coughed. "I guess I must," he said. He stood and held his staff at the ready. He looked around, at the queen, at the creatures, and then at Lucario. He nodded. "Lucario, I have an idea of what has to be done," he said.

' 'What, master?' ' he asked. The pokémon got ready to fight again, too.

Aaron smiled. "I...I saw everything that occurred in front of me after becoming one with the Tree of Beginning," he recounted distantly. "I could not move. I could _feel_, however—feel the world around the Tree change, feel the health of the Tree itself...It helped make my suspended death more bearable. So I saw when you entered the Tree with that boy.

"His aura astounded me in its strength and similarity to mine." He looked back at the creatures. "Seeing as I was allowed that key to defeat those men, I have a feeling that boy will also be able to use one. If that's what's needed, then seek him out. The one whose aura is like mine."

Lucario gasped. _' 'What?' '_ he asked, hurt. ' 'And leave you here alone? I can't do that, master! Not after we've just been reunited!' '

Aaron gave a smile out of Lucario's vision. "I know, my friend," he said softly, "but...my aura is weak from remaining in my suspended state for those years, and, although I have powerful aura, it is not as powerful as it could be. I cannot accompany you, let alone be the one to wield the key. Please understand, Lucario."

Lucario dropped his jaw in horror, tears pricking in his eyes. ' 'But...my friend...' '

Aaron swung out with his staff at another foe. "Lucario, I'm sorry, but that's how it has to be," he grunted. "Your power is great, and your courage is boundless. Now please, go. You are the best one to go, since you need not carry a weapon you might lose in transit between this world and wherever you need to go. As well—" he directed this up to the buttresses above, "—I have the _entire Cameron __pokémon army to help me..."_

Above, people made various yelps, then turned to run and get his reinforcements.

Lucario growled and shook his head. _' 'NO!_ I'm staying _here!_ I never wish to leave you again!' ' he cried defiantly.

Aaron turned and gave him a harsh glare. "Then I _order_ you to go, Lucario!" he shouted. "I will stay and defend the palace with all my might, while you find a way to free our souls and allow us to move on in peace!" He bashed a beast coming up behind him without even looking.

Lucario stood, blinking and gaping a little, then squeezed his eyes shut and slowly bowed. ' 'Yes, Sir Aaron,' ' he replied quietly. ' 'I understand, as hard as it is for me. But then, you must know, this means I _must_ return,' ' he added, looking up and smiling.

Aaron smiled back. "Thank you, my friend," he said softly. "Now go. Find a way out of this world. Find the one whose aura is like mine."

Lucario rose, nodding, and, with one last look, turned and, throwing his head up, shouted, ' 'Mew Spirit! I accept the task to put our souls to rest! Allow me to escape this world so that I may carry it out!' '

The psychic voice echoed around, but nothing came except the creatures. Lucario sweatdropped. ' 'Well, I _thought_ that would work,' ' he muttered, looking down and around again.

Before him was a translucent mew, nothing more.

Lucario gasped, then looked left and right. ' 'Sir Aaron?' ' he called. Nothing. He looked back at the mew and grimaced. ' 'Well?' '

The mew nodded. ' 'You have chosen to embark on an enormous quest, hero of waves,' ' it noted in a calm, whispery voice.

Lucario nodded. ' 'Yes. May I leave now?' '

The mew began to glow bright white. ' 'Know that your body will become weakened from the journey, and that you must build up its power again. Your own powers of aura will be weakened, as well. It will be like you have again begun your training with Sir Aaron. This is unavoidable, because the old world has disappeared, and you must be sent across to a different plane. The power needed is what drains you. I doubt you will be half as powerful as you are now,' ' it warned. ' 'Do you still accept?' '

Lucario widened his eyes at this, but nodded resolutely. ' 'Yes, I do. I must.' '

' 'Then so shall it begin,' ' the mew declared, and all was white.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Lucario awoke in the middle of an ocean, slumped over a piece of driftwood. He blinked as he looked around the clear air across the deep, blue water. 'Am I...alive again?' he wondered. He looked around him in the water. 'I wonder if I should start getting moving...but where?' He thought to close his eyes and use his aura vision. He was amazed how much work it took him now to use it, but he got it and spread out his awareness in all directions, seeking out the unique aura his master gave off. Finally, after a few minutes of searching, which pushed his now-weakened abilities to the limit, he found him. ' 'Ash!' ' he gasped. He oriented himself in the direction of the aura and, focusing his on his target (which relieved a great deal of the stress put onto him from using aura), began swimming towards it, holding onto the board.

_' 'I determinedly swam forwards, never stopping. I sometimes switched arms, but never really stopped. I kept himself going by reminding myself of Sir Aaron's order. My body began protesting, but I ignored it and kept going. By the time sunset arrived, I'd nearly gotten here and my body was almost completely spent. I felt like he was going to die again, but I had to get to you. Besides, there weren't any other islands around that I could land and rest on and get food from._

_' 'When I finally got here, I had resorted to letting the tide wash me in. I had given up on aura-seeing when I had sight of the island. So, when I finally felt my body scrape up onto the shore, I had no idea where you were. And I felt so weak, I couldn't try even if I wanted to.' '_

***/FLASHBACK!***

The rest of Lucario's story was what Sora had reported seeing to Ash. Ash sat, long finished with his breakfast, and gaped in awe at Lucario. "Wow," was all he could say.

Lucario sighed and nodded, closing his eyes. ' 'That about sums it up,' ' he agreed. ' 'So, now you see why I am here. Pretty fantastic story, but true, nevertheless.' '

Ash crossed his arms and bowed his head, thinking. "So, if what you say is true," he said slowly, face beginning to brighten with hope, "I should be able to hold a Keyblade, after all!" He gasped and grinned. "That means I can find my friends!...And our world," he added, feeling rude. "Sorry, I've been separated from my friends." He quickly summarized his own story for Lucario.

Lucario raised his eyebrows. ' 'So...our world is...utterly _gone?' '_ he asked. He got a nod in response and sank his head a bit. ' 'I thought as much,' ' he sighed. He shook his head and stood up. ' 'Well, Ash, should we get going and see what we can do?' '

Ash nodded. "Yeah. I need to do some things here first, but then I'll be out," he answered, rising as well. "You can wait outside. I think Sora and the others are already out there." He had an idea. "Hey, you say that you're not as strong anymore, right?" he asked.

' 'Much to my dismay.' '

Ash smiled. "Then find and talk to Sora. He's the brown-haired guy dressed all in black, with the big shoes. He might be busy fighting with a white-haired guy who's taller than him. But ask if he'll fight against you, and you can start getting your skills back up. I'll come back out in a bit."

Lucario nodded. ' 'Alright.' ' He turned and went out the door.

Ash finished up dressing and such, then went and found him. Indeed, Lucario was sparring against Sora. He was giving Sora a bit of a rough time, actually, since he was very good at fighting naturally.

"Woah!" Sora cried, blocking another hit.

Lucario kept up his punches, kicks, and occasional whips of his tail. However, he got parried again and hit a couple times. He regained his balance and began dodging and blocking. Each side would get in a few hits, then go back to dodging and blocking combos.

Ash came over, Kairi waving at him as he approached. "Woah, those two look like they're having fun," he commented, smiling.

Riku chuckled. "I'm wishing _I_ could've fought with him," he said.

Ash chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's just I thought you'd be a bit rough on it," he apologized.

Riku held up a hand in response.

Ash looked around. "Where are Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka?" he asked.

"Tidus has to stay home and do chores, Selphie's spending the day at the mall, and Wakka's out practicing with members of the school basketball team," Kairi answered. "They're not going to be here until at least mid-afternoon."

"Really? Huh..." Ash shrugged.

Finally, Lucario and Sora decided to stop. Both were left panting and smiling at the good fight. "You're pretty dang good," Sora complimented as he sat on the wall to rest.

' 'Thank you,' ' Lucario replied, sitting against the wall on the sand. ' 'You're very gifted, yourself.' '

Ash smiled. "Seems you two had a good time," he observed. He laughed. "I guess I'm going to have to wait for a bit before I can train with Sora!"

Lucario raised his eyebrows and looked at Ash. ' 'You are training?' ' he asked. ' 'In what, swordfighting?' '

Ash nodded. "Yup! Sora's helping me, and I spent all day yesterday training with him. I've gotten a bit better, I'd say," he added, smirking a little.

Sora sweatdropped. "Aaahh...don't get too cocky, kid," he warned his student. He laughed at the look he got. "Sorry, but you've still got a ways to go. Nothing's easy in life!"

Ash nodded, smiling. "I know that all too well," he replied. "It took me ages before I got good at pokémon training."

Kairi, sitting there and listening, suddenly got an idea. "Hey, Ash," she said, looking at him. "Lucario's a pokémon, right?"

' '"Yes," I am.' ' Lucario looked up and back as he saw Kairi sitting on the wall above him.

Kairi giggled and gave a playful look to the two. "Why not, sometime today, show us what it is you do?"

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Really?" he asked. He looked at Lucario, then sweatdropped. "I don't think Lucario'd like me telling it what to do...would you?"

Lucario shook his head. ' 'I wouldn't mind if it was you, since you are a friend, and I trust you,' ' he replied. He tilted his head. ' 'Although, what would we use as a practice opponent? There are no other pokémon here that we can battle.' '

Ash's face fell as he remembered that. He'd felt hopeful when Lucario said it'd be okay to use him in an exhibition battle. "Oh, yeah," he muttered. "I forgot about that..."

"I can fight him," Riku offered, turning and smiling thoughtfully. "I'm no pokémon, but I can take hits and fight." He grinned. "It'd be interesting, too."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Uuuhhmm...it'd be weird, but...Lucario?" he checked.

Lucario raised an eyebrow, too, but nodded. ' 'It's as good as we're going to get,' ' he reasoned.

Ash nodded. "Alright, but I'm going to have to talk with Lucario and find out what attacks it remembers," he said.

At this, Kairi gave an annoyed "Humph!" and crossed her arms. _"Ash!"_ she scolded.

Ash sweatdropped. "What? I have to, otherwise I might order an attack it doesn't know!" he defended himself.

Kairi groaned. "No, the 'it' stuff," she said. "You've heard Lucario talking to us! He's obviously a he!" She looked at him. "Heck, let's ask him. What gender are you, Lucario?" she asked.

Lucario sweatdropped a little at the question. ' 'P-Pardon, m'lady? Er...Sorry, just such an...unexpected question...' ' He regained his composure. ' 'I am indeed male,' ' he answered. ' 'But I understand why Ash calls me an 'it,' since that is what an animal is called, and pokémon _are_ animals. Albeit, ones that can launch Hyper Beams and Flamethrowers, but animals regardless,' ' he added, smirking at his little joke. ' 'I care not what I'm called, so long as it's not meant as an insult, and as long as it's not 'she.'' '

Ash still sweatdropped as he looked at Kairi. "Okay, okay, I'll call Lucario 'he,'" he relented. Kairi smiled and thanked him, nice and happy again, and Ash let out a flustered sigh. 'Man, she doesn't _need _to know how to fight—she could win fights by scaring them off!'

After a rest, Ash and Sora decided to go and train. Lucario, curious to see Ash fight, decided to accompany them. The three guys went to the cove again and got down to business. Ash took out the toy sword he now carried with him everywhere, as did Sora.

"Okay, Ash, let's begin," Sora nodded, in stance. "Come on!"

Ash nodded, then charged. He swung and got blocked. He tried swinging more and more, but he ended up getting blocked all the time. Then, when it was his turn to get swung at, he got hit five times out of the six swings. He and Sora fought against each other for a while more until the two got into a standoff, Ash panting and holding his wooden sword limply, Sora just breathing a little heavier. The Trainer had a few bruises while Sora had none, getting hit only a few times.

Lucario raised an eyebrow. ' 'Ash,' ' he called.

"What?" he asked, still looking at Sora in case he charged at him again while he was speaking to someone else.

' 'Sorry to say, but you're a very bad swordsman,' ' Lucario admitted, causing Ash to anger-vein. ' 'However, I remember witnessing Sir Aaron wield a sword quite nearly as well as his staff, which he used with unparalleled skill. Since your aura and his are so similar, I wouldn't be surprised if you had as much talent as he if you were able to unlock it.' '

Ash made his "this is new" face. "What do you mean?" he asked.

' 'What I mean is that you're bad now, but you might be able to be a lot better,' ' Lucario summarized. ' 'Just believe that you can do it, and you'll do better.' '

Ash nodded. "Alright, I'll try," he said, and turned back to Sora. "I'm ready!" he called.

"Okay, then try again!" Sora smiled, and came at him.

A few minutes later, Ash and Sora were taking a standing break, regaining their breath again. Ash had landed a couple more hits than last time, but he still hadn't done it quite as well yet. Lucario hummed in thought. ' '...I have an idea,' ' he said finally.

Ash glanced at him. "Yeah?" he asked.

' 'You remember when you used Sir Aaron's gloves to use your aura?' '

Ash raised his eyebrows. "Yeah..."

Lucario put a paw to his chest. ' 'Here's my idea: Try tapping into your aura like you did before, but instead of forcing it out, let it fill your physical body. Let the power residing inside of you assist you, flow through you.' ' He crossed his arms again to watch.

Ash considered it. "My aura..." He stood and put a hand to his chest. "Worth a shot," he mumbled, and closed his eyes. "Alright, just let it fill my body..." He reached inside of him, remembering what he did when he tried to use his aura to help Lucario out. He inwardly gasped as he felt the energy enter his chest. He didn't try and force it out, but instead let it flow. He felt an indescribable feeling. It energized him and shot his eyes wide open, a very faint pulse of aura coming from them. He felt his mind clear of distracting thoughts. "I think I've got it," he said confidently.

Lucario, watching in aura-vision, smiled. _' 'That's _it. Now, just try to keep it flowing while you fight. Don't focus too much on keeping it up; you should know it when you start to lose your grip keeping the gate to your aura open. Since you got a _lot_ of aura out on your first try using Sir Aaron's gloves, I'd say you've got a knack for it. So, good luck.' '

Ash nodded, looking at Sora. He kept his eyes on him like never before. It was as if he was using the move Lock-On. "Ready!" he shouted.

Sora nodded, then came at him again. He swung, but Ash, with amazing nimbleness, ducked and slid underneath it, stood up, spun, and whacked Sora on the back. Sora grunted, then turned and swung again. Ash instinctively blocked it, then blocked another one. He swung out as well, but got blocked, too. He was thrown off and was stabbed at, but Ash, feeling the aura flow through his body, dodged it by weaving his body to the side, bending it like a bow. He then took the opportunity to slash with his sword.

Sora got struck and stunned for a slight moment for the first time in Ash's career as a swordsman.

Immediately, Ash comboed him. First, a vertical slash down, then a stab forwards, and a finisher in the form of a wind up to the left, crouching a little, then a quick slightly diagonal horizontal swing to the right, "thrown" by his left hand while the right swung out. The combo launched Sora back a bit, and Ash got back to his stance, breathing slightly.

Sora laughed as he got up. "Wow, that hurt!" he said, rubbing his shoulder. "Looks like Lucario's idea worked! But can you keep it up?" he asked, and went at him again.

*****LEARNED Focus — Ability*****

_Use your aura to, simply put, make you NOT suck._

The training ensued for a fairly long time—about 20 minutes of constant fighting. Ash got knocked down a couple times, but he got up again in a flash. Sora got knocked down just as much. When they had finished for the time being, both were panting hard, laughing and smiling.

Ash, flumped against the wall of the cove, turned to Lucario and wheezed, "Thank you so much, Lucario...I couldn't've done so well...without your idea..."

Lucario smiled faintly. ' 'No problem. I think it is good you learn to use your aura while you have such a powerful one. And, by the way,' ' he added, ' 'what you did was really what anyone can do, just faster. You entered a state where your focus is entirely on whatever you need to do, and your body and mind are shut out from doing all except.' '

Ash tilted his head, but Sora translated, "You mean that he just put himself into the zone."

Lucario made a confused face and turned to Sora. ' ''The zone?' Is that what people call it?' ' he wondered.

Sora laughed. "Yeah, didn't you know?" he asked.

The pokémon shook his head. ' 'No. It must have come up while I was trapped in Sir Aaron's staff...which happened in the time where swords were used for real battle, not for play fights.' '

Sora widened his eyes. "Woah...You mean with knights and stuff?" he asked. Lucario nodded, and Sora gaped. "WHOA! You're really old!" he blurted out, then meeped and clasped his mouth. "Er, I mean..." Ash and Lucario were both laughing, though, so he calmed down.

Ash looked to Lucario after that. "So, what I'm doing isn't cheating or anything?" he asked.

Lucario turned and shook his head. ' 'It's merely something to help you along,' ' he replied. ' 'And it's not too dangerous or tiring to use, either. It should help you out until you become used to swordfighting and can fight better in general. Just don't depend on it, because the less aura you have, the less of an effect it will grant you. You might need to use your aura to fight in the future, if you ever have to fight on your own for real.' '

Ash nodded. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind, Lucario." He breathed for a little bit while he rested. After a while, Lucario, who had begun to fidget, decided to go and start his own solo practice. He practiced his fighting moves, punching and kicking, and tried some aerial moves as well. After that, he tried to use some actual moves.

' 'Oh, _great,' '_ he muttered after trying a few and ending up with a big load of nothing, ' 'I've forgotten a great deal of moves. Wait, have I...' ' He got his paws into position and focused his aura. Slowly, but surely, a sphere began to gather up and form. He grimaced. ' 'I can still use it, but not as well,' ' he muttered. He aimed at a wall and threw it. It soared and struck, guided by the ambient waves. It jarred a few rocks loose, but had little overall effect. Lucario sighed, hanging his arms limp. ' 'Oh, well.' '

Ash frowned sympathetically. "Lucario...I'm sorry."

Lucario turned and nodded. ' 'It is nothing,' ' he replied. ' 'I can deal with it. I will just have to get stronger somehow.' '

Ash crossed his arms and thought. "If only there were more pokémon around to train against," he muttered. "Just going up against Sora and Riku, as well as Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka, is fine, for now, but..." He sighed. "Oh, well," he said, too.

After some more self-training, Ash and Lucario discovered that he still knew Metal Claw, Tail Whip, Low Kick, Screech, and, to some extent, Aura Sphere. When the pokémon used Screech, Ash couldn't help but feel sorry when Sora squeaked and covered his ears. Lucario's Screech was kind of like a loud, high dog's howl.

After Lucario finished, Ash and Sora began sparring again. Ash tapped into his aura once more and got into the zone. He now had to work on defending against aerial opponents. Sora could jump amazingly high for a human being, and Ash was dumbfounded as to how he could. He tried jumping himself, but couldn't jump all that high. Lucario, being a pokémon, could jump as high as Sora could, but Ash? No, no way! He decided not to ask, though, and instead was content just learning and practicing.

A time later, Ash, Sora, and Lucario decided to take a lunch break. Ash ate with gusto from the training, and everyone laughed. Even Lucario gave a chuckle. The pokémon ate completely natural food, like berries and such. He noticed a distinct lack of chocolate, however.

Afterward, Riku came over to the Pokémon worlders. "What about that battle?" he asked, giving a smirk to Lucario.

Ash looked at the aura-user and smiled his Ash smile. "You up for it?" he asked.

Lucario nodded. ' 'I am ready when you are.' '

Ash nodded and clenched his fist, holding it up. "Then let's go, Riku!" he challenged determinedly.

Riku chuckled. "I won't hold back," he warned.

Lucario couldn't help but smirk. ' 'I wasn't expecting you to,' ' he replied.

A few moments later, Ash was standing on one end of the beach, Lucario in front of him. At the other end stood Riku, holding his sword at his side. Sora, whom Ash had told about the job, acted as referee, a wooden sword in each hand. The brown-haired Keyblader looked left and right at Riku and Ash. He cleared his throat. "This unofficial battle between Ash, using Lucario, and Riku, using...uh, himself, will now get under way," he announced. Riku got his sword up into stance. "Ready? Aaaaaand..." He shot both arms up, holding out the two swords like flags. _"Begin!"_

Immediately, Riku charged forward with amazing speed. Ash nodded. "Lucario! Get ready to dodge!" he called.

Lucario nodded, crouching. Riku came forward and let out his first attack. Instantly, the pokémon dodged the swing, sidestepping. Riku looked over.

"Metal Claw!" Ash ordered as soon as Lucario had dodged, knowing how fast Riku was.

Lucario's paw spikes glowed, forming into sets of three long, hooked claws, and he slashed at Riku. Riku raised his sword and blocked it, though, quickly counter-attacking. Lucario grunted as he got hit.

Ash, expecting quick attacks and used to not hearing what the enemy will do (since wild pokémon don't call their attacks), cried, "Screech, now!" when Lucario's attack had reached its hit-or-miss point.

Lucario, as an effect, was able to let out his attack, which caused Riku to grunt and stop further attacks while he bore it. However, as much as he tried, he soon had to clasp his hands over his ears. When Ash saw this, he ordered Lucario to use Tail Whip. Although weak, Lucario was able to land the quick attack across Riku's stomach.

Riku grunted. "This ain't as easy as I thought it'd be," he commented, "what with hearing what attacks are being used on me..." He held his sword ready again. "Alrighty, let's get down to business." He ran and feinted before lashing out. Lucario was hit, but it appeared it didn't do much.

Ash grinned. 'That must have been like Feint Attack, which is a Dark-type move and therefore didn't do much against Lucario!' "Quick, Low Kick!"

Lucario complied, foot lashing out in the fast, but weak, attack. It was a bit straight, though, and was easily dodged.

"Behind you!"

He jumped out of the way of the swinging attack, soaring high. However, Ash remembered that Riku, too, was a good jumper. As Lucario came back down, Riku launched himself upwards and unleashed a three-hit air combo on the pokémon, slamming him back down to Earth. Lucario grunted as he hit the sand, then rolled and got up again.

Ash frowned. "Sorry, Lucario, I forgot he uses air attacks, too," he apologized.

' 'No worries,' ' Lucario returned, keeping his eyes on Riku as the boy landed.

Ash nodded and pointed. "Alright, let's bounce back by charging him!" he commanded.

Lucario did as he was told. Riku chuckled and readied himself. When Lucario approached, the Keyblader decided which way to dodge.

"Low Kick!"

Lucario did so. A sharp-eyed pup, he saw which way Riku sidestepped. As he did, Lucario swung a sweeping kick with extra power from the direction the human dodged. Riku grunted in surprise as he was tripped. He fell to the ground.

_"Ngh!"_ He rolled backwards and got up. "Heh...Sneaky," he commented. 'Why did that hurt a little more than I thought it would?'

Ash grinned. "When I'm going against you, I've gotta be, sometimes," he said. "Now, start hitting him using normal fighting moves!" he commanded. 'This isn't exactly how I normally battle, but this is what Lucario's good at.'

Lucario nodded and began free-forming. He and Riku engaged for a while, Ash watching intently, waiting for the right time. It came when Lucario managed to parry a move and give a mighty uppercut to the white-haired Keyblader. "Metal Claw!" Lucario hurriedly launched the attack. It struck the stunned Riku, causing him to give a little shout of pain and slide back.

Riku grinned as he halted. "Not bad," he complimented. He stood straight and held his hand out to his side. "Let's see how you handle this!" Darkness began to accumulate in his hand.

Ash gasped in surprise, as did the others. "What the—?" He thought furiously about what attack that resembled, and could only think of Shadow Ball. He frowned and nodded. "Lucario! Try and defend!" he cried.

Lucario braced himself.

"Riku! Why are you going to use that?" Sora asked.

Riku smirked over his shoulder. "I said I wouldn't go easy on him," he reminded, then finished charging the attack. "Alright! Eat my Dark Firaga!" he cried, throwing the ball of darkness.

Lucario grunted as it struck him, exploding into a burst of black fire. He slid back so far, he ended up in the water a little. He panted when he let his guard down. _' 'Ow.' '_

Ash gritted his teeth. 'What? It looked like a Fire- and Dark-type move rolled into one, but it should've been normal damage! That looked super-effective! I guess I'll have to dodge it...' He nodded and watched Riku. He was advancing, charging another Dark Firaga. "He knows I'm going to try and tell him to avoid it, so he's gonna keep on Lucario so he can't evade it!" he muttered, then shouted, "Lucario! Run towards him and try using Low Kick!"

Lucario did so, but Riku was smart enough to jump the sweep.

_"AGAIN!"_

Lucario, being ordered mid-spin, understood and spun around again as Riku fell. Riku couldn't land safely and was hit, knocked down again. His Dark Firaga was disrupted, too. Ash pumped his arm in victory, his plan having worked.

Lucario awaited further commands while Riku rose. He thought himself. 'If I'm not mistaken, my Low Kick seems to be doing more than normal to him,' he mused. 'I wonder if he's sort of like a pokémon himself...'

Riku smirked. "Alright, enough of this," he muttered, and summoned darkness around his toy sword. "Let's see how you like me _now!"_ He began to attack viciously.

Ash ordered Lucario to block it, then dodge it as best he could and use Metal Claw. It failed, though, and Lucario was hit. When he did, it looked like it hurt him so much, it stunned him. Then, he got hit by a combo...well, almost. At the finishing move, he reached up and grabbed Riku's darkness-covered weapon. Riku raised his eyebrows. After surprising his opponent, Lucario quickly released the sword and slashed with Metal Claw. He hit again.

Riku was getting either mad or excited. "Pretty brave, grabbing a blade of darkness," he commented.

Ash raised an eyebrow. 'So wait, does that mean his attacks are Dark-type? What about...' He shook his head. 'Well, it looks like Fighting-type moves are effective against him. He might be Dark-type, himself, though!' He ordered, "Lucario! Try, um, Focus Punch!"

Lucario, who didn't know if he knew it anymore, raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told. He focused intensely, hoping the move worked. Then, to his surprise, his fist began to glow.

However, Riku was ready. He charged and slashed. Lucario was able to dodge just in time, however. The pokémon unleashed the move and connected with a retreating arm. Riku hissed, wincing, and held his arm briefly before getting back to it.

Ash grinned. 'Yeah, that looked like it really hurt! He's got to be like a Dark-type, weak against Fighting-type moves!' "Lucario! Tail Whip!" he ordered. "Then jump away!"

Lucario tried Tail Whip, missed, but jumped back when the next attack came.

"Now start charging up your Aura Sphere!"

He nodded and began, midair. He still charged it when he landed. It was yet slow to charge, but Ash had gotten him far enough away that Riku couldn't get him in time. Riku was charging his own Dark Firaga, which charged just a tiddly faster than Aura Sphere.

They both launched at the same time. The orbs of energy sailed past one another to their destinations.

Ash waited until the right moment, then cried, _"Dodge!"_

Lucario jumped to the side just as the ball of darkness approached. It curved to him a little, but ended up missing and hitting the ground.

Riku, meanwhile, tried dodging the other one. He was surprised when not only did it home in on him, it also went straight through his sword, which he'd raised as a last-second defense. _"Aaugh!"_ he cried, getting nailed in the face by the Fighting move. He went to the ground, where he stayed a second before getting up, laughing. "Okay, that felt like it hurt a _lot_ more than it looked like it should," he laughed. "What's the deal?"

Ash grinned. "Pokémon and moves have what are called types," he explained. "One type of attack does more damage to another type of pokémon. For instance, Fire-type attacks do more against Grass-type pokémon; it's super effective!" He held up a fist. "Fighting-type moves are super effective against pokémon whose type..." He pointed with his fist hand at Riku. "...is Dark!"

' 'Or Normal, which he might still be,' ' Lucario added to Ash. ' 'I doubt he is, though...' '

Riku blinked, then laughed. "Great, just when you think you're human!" he joked. He frowned. "Then why did it look like some of my attacks hurt Lucario more than they should?" he asked.

Ash frowned. "I have no idea—maybe they're secretly Psychic-type?" he suggested. He smirked. "But anyway, you'll have to figure out the types on your own, since us Trainers have to," he told Riku. "So, we gonna keep going, or what?"

Riku smirked, then put his sword on his shoulder. "I think that's enough fun for today," he said. He tilted his head interestedly. "Unless you'll let me try one more move, see if Lucario's up for it...?"

Ash looked at Lucario. Lucario nodded. Ash smiled. "Sure! Lucario, get ready!"

Lucario nodded, then braced himself.

Riku grinned viciously. "Oooh, bad idea," he said, and everything went dark. Only Lucario and Riku were visible.

From the darkness, Sora gasped. _"Riku! Not Dark Aura!"_ he protested.

He was too late, though, and Riku had disappeared.

"Dark Aura?" repeated Ash.

Sora grimaced. "Something that's a really big pain in the...well, all over!" he explained.

Lucario looked around him, sensing something. Then, he saw a burst to his right and Riku searing towards him, blade out. He couldn't avoid the attack quite well and got hit. While he recovered from the hit, he got slammed again and again and again from nearly every direction as Riku mercilessly executed his most powerful move. Lucario grunted in pain each time, and tried to analyze where he was coming from. Unfortunately, the darkness surrounding the boy caused him to have no aura while the attack took place, despite the name of the attack. Finally, Riku finished by appearing in the center and unleashing a ring of dark flames, which hit Lucario, as well.

After the attack ended, Lucario fell to the sand, gasping for breath. ' 'That...is a powerful...attack,' ' he complimented. He struggled, trying to get up. ' 'A little..._too_ powerful..._ooof...' '_ He collapsed, spiraly-eyed.

Sora grimaced, but held up his right sword and cried, "Lucario is unable to battle! Riku—by a really cheap shot—_wins!"_

Riku gave him an eyebrow raise. "Hey, he said I could try it! I didn't even know I could use it without entering my Dark Mode..." He shrugged, then knelt down to the pokémon.

Lucario groaned in a second, then looked up at his smiling face. He took the offered hand and stood up.

"Good fight," Riku said.

Lucario nodded. ' 'Good fight.' '

Ash, amazed look on his face, walked over to Riku. "You...Wow. That's one scary attack," he said. "Glad I'm never going to have to deal with that in real life!"

Riku raised an eyebrow. "If you do end up nabbing a Keyblade, you'd better be ready for it," he warned, crossing his arms. "Heartless do all sorts of moves like that."

Ash looked a little surprised, then sighed and nodded. "I guess you're right," he admitted. He shivered. "Man, I hope I don't have to fight _you_ anytime soon, though!"

Riku raised his other eyebrow, switching them. "Really? I wanted to check and see if Sora hasn't been making you soft," he smirked, and Ash meeped, causing everyone to laugh.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

The remainder of the day was spent playing with the other kids, who were all eager to try Ash out once they got to the island. They had fun with him, and he had the opposite with them—despite his newfound ability to focus instantly, he still either had a lot of trouble or he just outright lost. He _did_ have a good time with Wakka, though, since he knew how to fight him from the previous experience he had with him. He even beat back the ball he had thrown to him.

Lucario, meanwhile, decided to practice his meditation, attempting to work on re-honing his skills with seeing the waves of aura. He sat on a rock by the waves of the ocean for a couple hours, motionless.

Finally, sunset arrived, and the others had to leave. Ash and Lucario bade farewell, then retired after getting something from the fridge there. As Ash went to sleep, he thought about his fighting skills. 'Am I...really cut out to do this?' he wondered. 'I mean...Lucario says that I should be able to use a Keyblade, but...am I really good enough to use one?...'

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Ash was falling...He was falling through the sky, soaring through clouds, an ocean below...Each cloud was a different scene...A mew hovering in a dark sky over a beautiful tree...The legendary birds minus Ho-Oh flying around a wintery island...Unown floating around an entei on a pillar of crystal...A celebi over a forest with a countdown clock and cliff on either side, a suicune on the cliff and a raikou on the clock...A latios and latias soaring over an ocean...A jirachi hanging amidst a starry sky...A deoxys and rayquaza flying at each other over a city...A manaphy floating in the middle of the ocean...A lucario running down a castle hallway...Dialga, Palkia, and a darkrai suspended in the air around a tower...Origin Forme Giratina, a shaymin in Sky Forme, and Arceus levitating around a frozen waterfall coming out of a ruins...A zorua being hugged by a zoroark in the middle of a stadium...Reshiram and Zekrom flying around a gigantic sword in the sky, a victini fluttering over the pommel...

He suddenly hit water, floating down until he landed gently on a black surface amidst the darkness of the deep. He took one step, then gasped as thousands of doves flew off, revealing a circular, stained-glass platform. It depicted a circle split in two, with the top part taking up two thirds of it. That section, colored indigo, bore a depiction of Misty, smiling and winking with her victory sign while in her old outfit. A basic map of Kanto was in that section behind Misty. The lower section, orange in background with a map of the Orange Islands, depicted Tracy, holding his sketchbook and drawing with a smile. Around it were three borders, all of them split into four colors—red, green, blue, and yellow going clockwise from the lower-right. The outermost was plain and thin, the middle a bit wider with a zigzag pattern of lighter-colored lens shapes, and the innermost bore the different Badges Ash obtained in the two regions they surrounded like a sort of tilted clock face. He looked up again to see the doves were flying off.

He looked around, seeing just that mysteriously-lit platform and himself. A light floated above the center of the platform. "What happened?" he asked nobody. "Where am I?"

So little time...so much to do...

Ash gasped as he heard a voice.

Take your time.

A trio of pedestals appeared before him, each bearing an item.

For your greatest journey has yet to begin.

...Come to the light. Don't be afraid.

The voice was gone. Ash blinked. "This is...weird..." He walked to the light orb and touched it. When he did, it floated up and split into three parts and became the pedestals with the weapons just like in Maru's dream.

What power is it you desire most?

Ash stood, looking at the items on the pedestals. "Uhhhh..." He walked over to the first item he saw, a sword. "Wow..." he mumbled, feeling the weight of it. He swung it around some. "Pretty cool! Wherever I am, I know I won't be in danger anymore!"

The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you desire most?

Ash looked up when he heard the voice, then frowned in thought. "I prefer a balance, actually...but..."

While you must unbalance yourself, if you choose with your heart, it will mean nothing.

"Really...?" He thought for a moment longer, then nodded. "I choose this!" he announced. The sword suddenly vanished, and the voice was heard again as he stood and looked at the other pedestals.

Alright. Now...what power do you give up in return?

Ash thought for a moment. 'I bet that shield is for defense, and that rod is for...magic? Really?' He went and checked, and the voice gave him the same spiel it gave Maru. Ash was surprised he was right, sorta. 'Inner strength...' He looked at the shield. He went and tried that, and was told about it, as well. '...or the power to defend my friends...!' He nodded and rushed to the rod.

Is this the power you give up?

"...Yeah," he nodded after the voice asked one more time. The rod vanished, and he stood again.

You desire the power of the warrior. You give up the power of the mystic. Is this the path you choose?

Ash thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yup," he said.

As soon as that happened, the pedestals all suddenly fell through the glass as darkness enveloped them.

So be it.

Screaming, Ash was swallowed by the darkness.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

**~The Lanes Between~**

Maru walked to his seat on the bridge. He nodded when he passed Elliott, who was sitting at his seat already. "Morning, Elliott," he greeted.

"~Morning, Maru!~" chirped the big dragon, waving his fingers.

Maru sat down. Behind him, Figment came scampering in. "We ready for our first adventure together?" he asked energetically, hopping into his seat.

Maru nodded. "Yeah, I've decided which world to go to," he confirmed.

Chip and Dale came scampering over atop the dash. "Well, then, touch yer destination and let's go!" coaxed Dale.

Maru nodded before touching Devil's Bayou on the map. The ship's engines began to rev up, and Maru held the steering wheel, wetting his lips. He'd been briefed the other day how to control it in flight, so he was pretty sure how to do things. "Alright," he murmured, "let the quest to recover my powers begin." He put on a friendly smile as best as he could and looked at his teammates, however much he preferred to do things alone. "Are you ready?" he asked.

Figment fidgeted violently in his seat, the seat belts a smidgen big on him. "Ready-ready!"

Elliott gulped and nodded slowly. "~R...Ready,~" he replied. He was kind of afraid with all the danger ahead, but he remembered he had to be brave, so he shook his head and sat upright as best he could in the seat. He wasn't really used to chairs. The belts were a bit small on him, in contrast to his purple teammate.

Maru turned his head a bit to look as behind as possible, and looked down with his eyes. "You sure you'll be fine just in there, Navi?" he asked.

Navi peeked out of his collar a bit. "I'll be fine, Maru!" she assured. "Just don't crash, okay?"

Maru smirked. "I won't," he said, and Navi popped back away. Maru turned to the front and nodded. "Okay," he announced, "let us _begin!"_

He stepped on the gas, and the Gummi Ship shot off, heading for the new world.

I could tell you about the journey there, but all I'll say is that it was pretty basic for Gummi Ships. Maru got used to the controls of the ship, and everyone pitched in to defend their vessel. At the end, Maru was actually grinning genuinely, since he, literally, had a blast. (Okay, it was smirk-like, but it was still a grin, pearly-whites in full view and everything.) "I think I'm going to look forward to these flights quite a lot!" he commented as they left the route behind.

Figment laughed. "Against your nature, huh?" He raised his eyeridge at Maru's great smile.

Maru chuckled. "I had fun, what do you expect?" he defended. "How do you feel, Elliott?" he asked, looking over, then raised his eyebrows.

Elliott was looking a little greener than usual. "~Erm...~" he murmured, paw on stomach, "~I'll...be fine...just a little weak from when you went so close to that wall at the end...~"

Maru chuckled. "What, are you saying my driving is dangerous?" he asked, then shook his head. "I would say I did well for my first try, personally." He dropped the smile and looked out the window. The world, exactly how it looked on the map, was ahead of them. It almost looked like it was nightfall, it was so dark. "I suppose different worlds run on different times," he muttered. "Well," he said louder, "shall we disembark?"

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

The frogs croaked and the crickets chirped in the night at a bayou. From an old moored, half-sunken riverboat emerged a little girl with short pigtails in a blue overall-like dress, a white shirt and light blue tights beneath, wearing brown Mary Janes. She held a small orange teddy bear as she looked around cautiously, then went down the gangplank and into the forest.

In the shadows of one of the trees, a figure in a familiar mantle and mask stood watching.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Maru, Figment, and Elliott appeared in a flash of light on the ground. Maru looked around. "Yeah, it _is_ night," he muttered. "Yet the clocks on the ship said it's morning...weird."

"~Those are some pretty big plants,~" Elliott commented, pointing to the trees towering around them.

"And pretty coarse...sand..." Maru added, looking down and around him, but stopped. He blinked when he saw something ahead of him. Grass blades at least his height and a half. "Wait..."

"Why are we _so SMALLLL?"_ he cried to the sky. The trio was standing in a small area with decrepit-looking trees behind them and grass ahead of them, soft, sandy ground between. They were all tiny.

Figment laughed, and they turned to him. "Sorry, I never told you guys, did I?" he asked, smirking. He produced a golden-colored card from his deck. A pair of question marks was on it. "Behold! This card transforms you into a form suitable for whatever world you're on, and I slipped it into your clothes last night when you were sleeping!" he announced proudly.

Maru blinked, then scowled. "You snuck into my room?" he growled. He sighed, shaking his head. "Well, there must be a reason for this, then..." He searched his pockets (Elliott searching his bags behind him, finding his before Maru). He found it in his back pocket and held it up, looking at it. "It reminds me of Missingno.," he muttered. He decided to call it the Missingno. Card. He put it away and looked around. "Well, we'd better start looking for that Keyhole," he said, the others turning to face the direction he was. He was looking out over the grassy part of the area, a bayou visible beyond.

*****OBTAINED Missingno. Card*****

_Magical card given by Figment that may transform you depending on the world visited._

**~Devil's Bayou~**

Maru, Figment, and Elliott were in a small area bordered by grass and trees. It appeared the sandy ground didn't go around the bayou, but there was a sort of thin path through the trees to their right. Maru set up a save disc where they had landed, then led them down the path. This path led them a ways away, around to a larger, sandy area. They noticed a bottle sticking out of the ground in one part, a puddle sat in another, and at the edge of the woods...a shack sized for them? A small, slender muskrat in a long white shirt and scarecrow-like hat sat in a hammock holding a brown jug on the porch, apparently sleeping. They looked to their left out to the gloomy bayou and saw, in the distance, a grand riverboat...well, a half-sunken one.

They didn't have much time to admire things, though, since at that moment, Heartless appeared. "Wh—_Already?"_ Maru raised his eyebrows as a bunch of Soldiers and a few new flying ones appeared. These new ones were mostly a dirty yellow and had six buglike legs from the simple oval-shaped body. From its black head came a long spike, and from its back were rapidly-flapping bug wings, making a low buzz. Its emblem was on its stomach. In short, it looked like a mosquito. Navi later decided to call these simply Bloodsuckers.

But what made Maru narrow his eyes was when another thing like Iso appeared and roared.

Maru, Figment, and Elliott went to work. While Figment and Elliott went about dealing with the smaller Heartless, Maru, eyeing the Heartless-Pokémon ahead, grabbed the Monster Ball on his belt and resized it with his free hand. **"Go, Iso!"** he cried, and threw the monster ball out.

It opened, releasing Iso, who roared, himself. He was smaller, too. He noticed Heartless and got into a battle position, standing sideways in a wide stance and swaying side to side, arms hanging limply. The ball closed and homed in back to Maru, who caught it and put it away. He now had a slight challenge: Defend himself and command Iso in a battle. "Navi," he called, looking out of the corner of his eye down to his collar. The fairy appeared out of it, hovering in front of him. "Keep an eye out for anyone trying to attack me while I battle this look-alike of my new friend," he instructed.

Navi nodded. "Right!" She then went to hovering around, looking out.

Maru got down to business. He thought critically back to when he was fighting the dragonlike creature. He nodded. "Slash, now!" he commanded.

The green-eyed Heartless growled and slashed with his huge reach. It hit—well, sort of. It didn't do much damage, nearly passing through the Heartless. Maru grimaced. 'Okay, note: Normal-types don't do well against the Heartless...they hit though,' he added, seeing it reel back a little. (Navi took a mental note of this, as well.)

The Heartless made no sound as it took the hit, but then it lunged, trying to take a swing at Iso.

_"Dodge!"_

Iso didn't hear him in time and took the damage, grunting. He skidded back a little.

Before Maru could shout another command, Navi squeaked, _"Maru!"_ Instantly, Maru mentally locked onto the foe trying to hit him. With one fluid motion, he spun and slashed with both hands. The Soldier trying to hit him flew back, soon nailed by Elliott's huge tail sweep. He gave Maru a thumbs-up, then went back to work. Maru nodded and did so as well.

Meanwhile, the dragons were noticing that the Bloodsuckers were a bit annoying. They were fast and kept moving. They would attack by dive-bombing them or, if they were near enough, pecking out. If one managed to peck them, it would hold on for a bit, sucking blood to heal its own HP until either it was thrown off or (theoretically) its victim died. It plumped up as it drank, which was released in a gross burst upon defeat. On the plus side, if they ever tried to drink too much blood, they would explode, and the bigger they got, the slower they became. However, occasionally, they would poison their target for a while. Luckily, Figment had a Panacea with him when he got poisoned. Elliott was glad he wore armor now, since frontal attempts bounced back, stunning them. When their attacks were repelled, their straws would bend up and they would hover a few seconds while scrabbling to straighten it again. Figment discovered that they were weak to Fire magic, so he used that on them when he could. Their defense was fairly low, as well.

When Maru returned to his pokémon, Iso had taken another hit. "Shit...Uh, Take Down!" he called in a hurry. No reaction. 'Wait, Fighting-type moves would probably do well, since Heartless look a bit like Dark-types!' He pointed. "Low Kick!" he ordered.

The pokémon understood this and, blocking one blow, launched a kick to the stomach of the Heartless. It didn't sink in, but it didn't look super-effective, either. Maru grim—_"Maru!"_—aced and slashed behind him, then returned to his pose before. 'Great, now what? Wait!' "Dragon Claw!" he tried. His dragon reeled back his right arm, claws glowing like Dragon Claw does normally, and then slashed viciously. It hit, and the Heartless flew back. 'Super effective? Or just low defense?'

The Heartless skidded back and got up again. It sprang into the air and soared at Maru's combatant at high speed. _"Dodge it!"_ Maru ordered. Iso barely did so in time. His tail got hit though, and he yelped out in pain. He looked at his enemy with a glower that Maru read as, _"Nobody_ touches my tail!" His eyes then began to glow red. Maru blinked, clouds of red and black smoke coming from his pokémon's aura. 'Crap! What _is_ this? It's familiar...what...what? _Dammit!'_ "MEGA PUNCH!"

But Iso didn't listen. He instead crept back, coiling for the spring, then launched and slammed his fist and then body right into the other Heartless. Maru recognized it instantly from the TV reports of the Orre region incidents. 'Shadow Rush? This means...I knew it!' He looked between his aura-bearing pokémon and the Heartless, who had no aura. 'Once I captured Iso, he became like a Shadow Pokémon! But with somewhat with an opened heart, since he used moves other than Shadow Rush before...'

He had time later to ponder, since he had to think of a way to snap Iso, now intractable, out of Hyper Mode, which he'd remembered was what it was called when his aura went red. 'I am SO glad I nicknamed him, now,' he thought before calling, _"Iso!"_ Iso merely did another Shadow Rush, missing.

A few moments later, Maru calling out Iso's name every time he thought he might listen, Iso launching a few more Shadow Rushes, both combatants were panting. Maru realized this one was the last Heartless left before it was all clear, and his teammates were by him, watching and weapons away. Iso was hurt from being too enraged to avoid blows and from his own self-harming Shadow Rushes. Maru gritted his teeth. "ISO! You've _got_ to use a regular move!" he yelled at the dragon. "So snap _out_ of it, _now!"_ This he shouted with all the vehemence he could muster, and he hoped it worked. 'Cursing at him would be bad training...'

A twitch, and the red aura began lessening...not yet, though...

_"~"Snap out of it!"~"_ Elliott and Figment helped, looking worried.

_"C'mon!"_ Maru cried. He clenched a fist before calling as loud as he could, _"ISOOO!"_

Finally, the aura faded and went back to normal black shadowy stuff. Iso's eyes became clear and green once more. Maru noticed his aura was down significantly from before, but this was more of a big dent than a huge hunk. Maru sighed in relief. "Thank you, Iso. Now!" He pointed. "Fly!" The Pokémon took to the skies, and the Heartless did as well. Maru grinned. "Gotcha!" He looked up and cried, _"Dragon Claw!"_ 'Here's hopin'...'

It worked. The Shadow Pokémon roared, claws glowing, and spun at the enemy, slashing it as it tried to escape. He grabbed it with the claw that hit, yanked it back up, then gave a double slash, sending the other one careening to the ground. Iso landed in front of Maru afterward. The Heartless struggled, trying to get up, its white eyes wincing, then plopped down, the eyes turning into the signature edgy KO spirals of Pokémon fame. It then, to Maru's horror, burst in an explosion like a Heartless, a huge heart floating up and away. But the particles of darkness, he noticed, turned to light as they faded away. Maru tilted his head and pondered this a moment, then nodded and smiled at his pokémon. "Great job, Iso," he called.

The Heartless roared. His aura was down a LOT from where it was. 'Battle must be the best way to help him out in opening his heart,' Maru thought. He held up the ball. "Thank you, my friend. Return." A white beam shot out from the ball and recalled Iso. Maru looked at the ball. "Thank you. Have a good rest. And sorry for there being no Pokémon Centers around to help you out. I bet the save discs would work well." He minimized the ball and put it on his belt again, dismissing the Keyblade, too.

Figment and Elliott clapped and cheered. "Great job, Maru!" cried Figment. "That was awesome! I've never seen a battle like that before!"

Maru chuckled. "I know, aren't they great?" he asked, smiling genuinely. "They can be very exciting...except if the pokémon doesn't want to battle," he added in a low voice, smile fading as he looked down a little.

"You need me anymore?" Navi asked. "I'd kinda like to get to recording some information, now..."

"No, Navi, thank you," Maru smiled at her, and she retreated to his collar. He turned to look around.

The muskrat was _still_ asleep.

Maru raised an eyebrow, tilting his head and crossing his arms. "That is one relaxed rodent," he muttered.

A slam in the distance alerted everyone to turn to the riverboat. "Huh?" Figment blinked, fluttering up to see better. "What's going on over there?"

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

The room on the first deck of the boat lit up, and out stomped a tall, pale-skinned woman with shortish, wild orange hair, too much makeup, and a wicked scowl, wearing a black cloak and galoshes as well as big aqua earrings. Tied to leashes in her hand were a pair of American crocodiles, smiling evilly. "In_compe_tent Snoops!" she growled as she strode to the gangplank. "Can't even keep an eye on a mere child!" She stopped at the gangplank, looking around before crouching down, smiling evilly while speaking with barely-concealed rage. "Nero, Brutus..." she addressed, taking off their leashes and hugging each one in turn, then pointing, "Bring her _back, _boys!" She stood and crossed her arms, frowning as the two crocs crawled down the gangplank and slipped quietly into the water.

The woman then turned, walking off down the deck, producing a black rain hat from within her cloak. "SNOOOOPS!" she shouted.

"Yes, Madame Medusa?" called back a man's voice from inside.

"Send up flares! Light up the swamp, so I can _find_ her...!" Medusa ordered curtly as she went to a blocky, odd-looking single-person boat. She mounted it like a water bike. It looked steampunk-esque with a funnel in front and in back, a round light mounted above the front funnel. She started it up, and after a splutter, it roared to life, fire spurting out of the back funnel. She began riding off around the bayou.

As she left, a firework shot out of one of the thin smokestacks near the bow of the ship.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Meanwhile, in the skies above the ship, a well-fed white albatross with an aviator cap and goggles flew through the air. On his back was a sardine can with a pair of mice in it. One was a chubby grey mouse and wore a red sweater and brown newsboy cap, while the other, a calm white mouse, was lean and wore a purple kerchief tied in a big bow and matching fur hat. Both wore coats and were sleeping. "Well, folks, just wanted to letcha know that we'll be landing in Devil's Bayou in just a minute," the albatross said amiably, chuckling at the two, who began to rouse. "Your crew thanks you for flying Albatross Aii_iiirr—?"_

Suddenly, the firework from before came shooting up in front of the albatross, bursting red and surprising the mice, rocking them a little. More fireworks came up around them. One of the fireworks suddenly hit him in the tail feathers, making them smoke. "Sufferin' sassafras! My rudder's on fire!" The grey mouse began trying to put out the flames by coat, but the albatross squawked, "Bail out! Bail out!" starting to spiral.

The mice were already falling out of their seat, clutching the sardine can as he inverted. The grey mouse (losing its coat) grabbed the other by the coat.

_"Heeelllp!"_ the white mouse cried, revealing a female voice. _"Berrrnarrrrd!"_

Bernard tried holding on, but the white mouse slipped out of her coat, both then dropping. They fumbled about, eventually catching each other and grabbing the female's black umbrella and opening it to use as a parachute.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Below, Maru was walking over to the shack. "I wonder if that muskrat can help out," he murmured. 'If I can even wake him...'

From within the shack, a stout muskrat with a white short-brimmed, round-topped bonnet, gasped as she looked through the window before rushing out the door with a rolling pin in paw, making Maru and the dragons stop a short ways before the house. She had a pink apron on, as well. "Luke!" she cried, shaking the other muskrat awake, making the hammock twist, then untwist to deposit him. "Wake up!" Luke muttered to himself and roused slowly. The other muskrat continued down the steps, pointing at the rapidly-approaching albatross. "It's Orville! He's in trouble!" She stopped when she saw Maru, Figment, and Elliott standing there. "Oh, my! Well, ain't you the tiniest human I ever saw!" she commented. She had a southern accent.

"Uh—" Maru held a finger up.

The muskrat made shooing motions, interrupting him. "Get out of the way! Orville's comin' in hard!" she bustled.

"Orville?" Figment repeated as they moved back. They looked up and saw the incoming albatross, widening their eyes in alarm at the smoke trail left by his tail feathers.

Meanwhile, Luke was taking a swig of his jug. When he lowered it, he coughed out a flame and whooped. "Now _this_ is a good batch, Ellie Mae! You gotta try some!" he said, coming down. He caught sight of the others and chuckled. "Hey, strangers!" he called. "C'mon, you ain't never had anythin' like this before," he insisted, hefting the jug.

Maru backed away, sweatdropping. "Th-Thank you, but I don't drink," he declined.

Luke ignored him and went over to Elliott, who was also trying to back up. Then, Elliott stopped, sniffing the jug in interest. "Hm?" the dragon went, curious.

Maru sweatdropped. "Elliott, don't—!" he reached.

"Here, have a swig!" Luke smiled, jamming the jug into poor Elliott's mouth. Elliott was forcefed a couple glugs before Maru yanked him back.

"Hoo, boy," Figment squeaked, covering a smile. "Moonshine plus dragons? _That_ can't be good!"

"Luke! Pay attention, ya git!" Ellie Mae chided, thwacking her husband with her rolling pin.

Elliott's eyes were swimming and his face contorting all about from the sensation of the strong alcohol. He looked down at his belly as it rumbled ominously.

Everyone's attention was called to Orville when he called, "Clear the runway! I'm coming in for a crash landing! Mayday, mayday!"

"Uh-oh," Maru muttered before jogging back, pulling his comrades away. Smoke was starting to come from Elliott's nostrils as he appeared to be fighting a burp.

Luke was the only one standing there. He was about to go when he noticed movement in the trees behind him. A wisp of strange cloth disappeared amidst the foliage. "Nah who could that be?" he muttered.

_"Incoming!"_ Orville squawked.

"Huh?" Luke turned around in time to be plowed down by an awkwardly-landing Orville, skidding in the mud and puddle.

"Oh, Luke..." Ellie Mae sighed, shaking her head and running over. The group followed. Orville, meanwhile, was sighing in relief as he finally put his tail out.

"You alright, Elliott?" Figment asked, frowning in concern at his fellow dragon. "You might wanna let it out..."

Elliott, whose stomach was rumbling visibly, was smoking badly, eyes woozy as he slowed. Suddenly, his belly swelled briefly before, making a ridiculous expression (and Maru ducking with an arm on his back to keep his cloak from flapping up), Elliott wheezed out a great gout of flame. He coughed a few more times, flames spreading out more as the alcohol burned away inside him. As he did, he stumbled forwards, turning around, paws to throat. He fell onto his back in the same puddle Orville landed in (causing the bird to squawk and get out of the way), letting out one last flame. He flopped his head back, panting. "~That...was...interesting...~" he gasped, eyes wide.

"Look out below!" a male voice called.

Everyone looked up and saw the two mice floating down in the umbrella before the it blew out, dropping them. They yelped as they fell...right onto Elliott's belly, bouncing up. Elliott let out a surprised "Oof!" on impact.

"Oh...what a shame! Here, honey, let me help yeh," Ellie Mae worried, walking right over Elliott and assisting the newcomers down, starting with the female. (When the heavyset muskrat set foot on his chest, Elliott squeaked and held his throat. He gasped for air when she came off again.) "Y'alright?"

"Yes, madam," the female mouse nodded. They were smaller than the muskrats and a bit smaller than Maru. (Figment was still smallest.)

"Er, y-yes, thanks to your, ah, friend here, thank you," Bernard added, turning to Elliott and doffing his cap.

Elliott coughed and sat up, back dripping as he thumped his chest with a grimace. "~Anytime,~" he mumbled. He got up slowly. "~Oh, my tail...my throat...my whole front...~"

"What's going on?" Maru asked, stepping over to the mice. "What's with that woman and the fireworks and everything?"

"Woman?" the female mouse asked. She had a slight Hungarian accent. "Tell me, did she have wild orange hair? Not as wild as yours, I'm afraid," she added, smiling with a secret laugh.

Maru patted his hair, frowning.

"Yeah, that there's Madame Medusa," Ellie Mae nodded, grimacing towards the riverboat. "Ooooh, how I'd like to introduce her head to mah rollin' pin...!"

"Yeah, we don't much like her," Luke agreed, frowning as he stepped by his wife.

"Excuse me, we've got to get to her," the female said to Ellie Mae. "Could you help us?"

"Whah, sure thing, hun!" Ellie Mae smiled. "Whatcher name?"

"M-Miss Bianca," Bernard supplied, then put his paw on his chest. "A-And I'm, uh, Bernard."

"We're agents here from the Rescue Aid Society to help a little girl named Penny," explained Miss Bianca.

This caught the ears of the visiting trio. Maru raised his eyebrows. "Wait, you mean a _human_ girl?" he asked. "A normal-sized human, I mean?"

"Rescue Aid Society?" repeated Figment, raising an eyeridge.

"~A little girl needs help?~" Elliott gaped.

The mice turned and nodded. "Yeah, she, ah, sent a letter—in a bottle," described Bernard, "an-and it floated down to New York City. That's, that's where the, uh, Rescue Aid Society is."

"The Rescue Aid Society is a team of mice from around the world devoted to helping anyone in danger," Miss Bianca supplied. "We got the letter, and I volunteered for the case. That poor little girl..." She frowned, looking down, worried. "I _do_ hope she's alright..."

"I was kinda, ah, ch-chosen to accompany her," Bernard added, grinning sheepishly. "We're looking for Madame Medusa because she's kidnapped Penny, to-to find some sort of, ah, diamond. We flew all th-the way here—from New York."

"And with that, I'd better get goin', 'cuz I ain't hangin' round this creepy place long," Orville announced, pulling down his goggles again. He turned to a small pier. "Clear the runway! I'm takin' off!" He took a few steps back as everyone followed his instructions. With a panting run, he jumped off the pier...and into the water. He flapped and waded quickly, however, eventually taking off.

Maru watched for a moment before turning back to the mice, crossing his arms. "Now, call it bias, but I'm having trouble believing a pair of small _mice_ can save a human girl from someone like _that,"_ he raised his eyebrow.

"Well, you'd be surprised," Miss Bianca defended curtly, putting her paws on her hips.

"C'mon, don't listen to that sour grape, you'd better get goin' to Evinrude! He'll getcha to 'em!" Ellie Mae beckoned, leading the mice away down a path. "Ah think I know who you're talkin' 'bout, though."

"Thank you," Miss Bianca nodded, smiling, as she and Bernard went off.

Maru frowned, arms still crossed. "So a little girl is being held captive, and those two are going to try and save her?" he muttered. "I dunno..." He sighed and looked at them leaving as he turned his body, pausing a moment. "Well..." He turned around fully. "We should get—" He stopped when he ran into a big belly. He looked up to find Elliott giving a cross look down at him, paws on hips, himself. "Elliott?" Maru asked, surprised.

"~You'd _better_ have been saying, 'We should get over to Bernard and Miss Bianca,' because _there's a little girl who needs help,~"_ he said firmly, gritting his teeth and growling vehemently at the end, lowering his face to Maru's.

Maru was surprised; sweet, lovable Elliott actually looked kind of scary when he snarled like that. He stepped back. "Elliott, I..." He shook his head. "I want to help her, too, but we've got a job to do right now, and that's to find the Keyhole," he said firmly.

"Maru, you really a human, or you a Heartless?" Figment asked, nonplussed as he put a paw on a hip and half-eyed at him, eyeridge raised.

Maru shook his head again. "No, I'm human—I just have priorities," he insisted. 'At least one of those is true...?'

Elliott, growling very deeply now, took a heavy step closer, making Maru start and look up as the dragon pressed against him again. Elliott bent over, baring his teeth. A bit of smoke came out of his mouth and nostrils, though not his eyes despite their blazing glare, as he grabbed Maru's shoulders tightly. _"~And this is _**_my_**_ priority!~"_ he all but roared. And before Maru could complain, he turned the Keyblader around and shoved him forwards down the path.

Maru stumbled and blinked over his shoulder at Elliott. 'Why does he feel so strongly about this? He's never even _met_ this girl!' he wondered, bewildered. He shook his head, sighing. 'Well, I _do_ want to help her, too, anyway...' "Alright, let's go help her," he conceded.

Elliott crossed his arms and nodded, giving a satisfied snort of smoke.

"Wow, yer a persuasive feller, ain'cha?" Luke commented to Elliott, chuckling, as the dragons followed Maru.

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

Yeah, I cut Ash's Dive. I hope you'll see why as I go along. And man, it's hard to figure something out for _The Rescuers_ like this. I hope nobody minds my copy-pasta of the battle from the original Paris, France into here. Oh, and I hope you don't mind it being Devil's Bayou.

Life's been weird for me lately. I kinda feel like I'm at a turning point in it...like a big change is happening. How this affects me creatively remains to be seen, but I know it will.

...Wow. For once, I guess I don't have much to say. Just don't expect a TON of stuff coming in for at least until 3D is released in Japan.

Edit: My memory is horrible. Sure, I'll leave some scenes misplaced, but I had to fix a few lines and details.

Edit 2: Fixed a typo, fixed an author's brain fart, and for some really odd reason, I ended up having Elliott's named spelled with three t's here. Musta been when I did a search-replace to fix the name in the parts copied from the old fic.

**~8D OMAKE 8D~**

***Navi is recording information from within Maru's collar during the above cutscene.***

**Navi (thinking):** Man, I've been seeing some weird stuff lately...First I get sucked up into some portal from...wherever it was I was, I've been traveling so long I forget. Then I run into "Maru" here—

***Navi pauses to look at a letter stowed in his collar beside her, bearing a familiar symbol on its seal***

**Navi (thinking):** —and join him on his quest to seal the worlds. Then again, after spending that time with Link, I'm kinda used to weird stuff. I just hope there isn't any...

***Navi peeks out to see what's going on, then stops, blinking (though we don't see it)***

**Navi (thinking):** ...Wait. It's morning to us, but it's the middle of the night, here. *groans* Yup, there's time travel, alright...


	10. M05: That Fine Bayou?

On the way to the path, Maru noticed a large chest next to the shack. It was dark-colored wood with moss forming a sort of design on it. Maru stopped and opened it like when he opened the chest in Radiant Garden and received a map of the area. 'Good, it's sized for people like us,' he noted as he glanced at it. The area they were in was fittingly titled "Buried Bottle".

*****OBTAINED Bayou Map*****

_Map of the bayou. The Keyblade icon indicates facing. Red lines indicate exits to other areas. Worldwide map part now viewable on the Touch Screen._

Maru, Figment, and Elliott had to face some more Heartless on the way there, going down the Moonlit Lane, as the map called it. It was simply a stretch of swampy ground surrounded by trees and grass. Maru decided to let Iso take a break and earn himself some experience.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

A river ran by a small alcove, fog beginning to settle over the water. Visible through it were two lumbering shapes. They emerged in a moment—Brutus and Nero, the latter holding a teddy bear in his mouth by the arm, the former holding Penny upside-down in his by the panties. Penny scowled, but hung defeatedly. "Why'd you have to go and spoil everything like that?" she asked the croc, sounding more annoyed than scared. Brutus and Nero stopped a moment to look at each other and share a bemused chuckle. As they approached the river, she pointed, "Nero, you'd _better_ not get my Teddy wet!"

As the crocs slipped into the water (Nero letting Teddy dip into the water), Bernard and Miss Bianca, far on the other side, gasped, running over. "Oh, dear, they've got her!" Miss Bianca despaired.

"Oh, that poor lil' young'n...She tried to run away again! C'mon, let's get to Evinrude, he's got the fastest vessel 'round these parts," Ellie Mae beckoned, going over to the alcove. The mice followed to find a large leaf in the water. Sitting on its upturned stem was a four-limbed green dragonfly in a blue sweater with what appeared to be some very thin black hair on its head and around its orange nose. "Evinrude, could ya take Bernard an' Miss Bianca here over to the riverboat?" Ellie Mae asked the dragonfly.

Evinrude looked up and nodded, buzzing. Ellie Mae ushered in Bernard and Miss Bianca. "Good luck, you two!" Ellie Mae bid, waving at them.

"Th-Thank you, Ellie Mae!" Bernard called back, waving after Evinrude began to push them out, using his wings to buzz them along like an outboard motor.

Ellie Mae watched them leave, holding her paws together. "Oh, Ah hope they'll be alright," she wished quietly.

"Ellie Mae!"

The muskrat turned around and raised her eyebrows as Maru, Figment, and Elliott arrived. "Oh! So y'all decided to help, after all, huh?" she asked, paws on hips. "Well, yer just a lil' too late—the only boat here just left with 'em."

"Boat?" Maru repeated, slowing to a stop by her and looking around. "You build boats to fit you all, too?"

Ellie Mae shook her head. "No, Evinrude the dragonfly pushes a big ol' leaf along, works just the same," she explained. "If y'all wanna help, you'd best find a leaf and some way to get goin'! I'm gonna go back an' make sure mah husband's on the alert. Good luck, y'all!" And with that, she trotted off again.

Maru looked around. The map called this area "Leaf Dock", and he noticed a few leaves lying around in the dreary greenery. "I'll find the biggest I can," he said, running over to the nearest one he saw. "You search, too!"

"Right!" nodded Figment as he and Elliott turned to look for leaves.

A moment later, they came back with large, teardrop-shaped leaves being carried awkwardly in their hands and paws. Maru looked around. "Alright, Elliott, yours is largest," he determined. "Let's see if we can use that."

Elliott raised his eyeridges at the leaf only a bit larger than he. "~But it's too small for me,~" he pointed. "~How will I come along?~"

"Ellie Mae said that a dragonfly pushes the leaf along," repeated Maru, tossing his leaf and grabbing Elliott's on his way to the water. "So we'll just have a dragon push ours along." He set it in the water, then beckoned to the other two. "And don't worry, I don't mean you, Figment," he added when he noticed the little dragon bite his lip.

"Wait, then you mean...?" Figment looked back at Elliott, who was frowning worriedly.

"Nope," Maru shook his head, and he let out Iso. Iso stood and looked around before turning to Maru like normal. Maru pointed to the stem of the leaf. "Iso, I need you to grab onto the stem there and fly us along while me and Figment ride in the leaf," he instructed clearly. "I also need you to pull Elliott, letting him hold onto your tail while he floats behind us." (Elliott started at this, going, _"~What?~")_ Maru lowered his arm again. "Do you understand, Iso?"

Blank. Then, Iso slowly nodded. He turned and grabbed onto the stem of the leaf and waited. Maru and Figment hopped in, then Figment turned to Elliott. "C'mon, big guy! Time to go for a swim!" he called cheerily.

Elliott sighed. "~I'm comin',~" he replied in a resigned tone, reluctantly plodding over and picking up Iso's tail. Iso looked behind him when he felt this, eying him carefully.

"Alright, Iso, use Fly and push us along," Maru ordered. Iso spread his wings and flapped, jumping, then began beating steadily, going forward.

Elliott yelped and ran along with until he splashed into the water. To the passengers' amusement, Elliott bobbed up again, buoyed by his belly. Elliott blushed at this, glancing at his middle and up at Maru again with a sheepish grin while he hung onto Iso's tail. He then looked behind and noticed his own large tail, growling in thought. "~Maru, why don't I use my tail like a rudder while I'm in here?~" he suggested. "~I kind of have Iso's right now...~"

"Good plan," Maru nodded. "Sorry you can't hold onto the leaf itself—you might drag it down," he added.

Elliott shook his head. "~Could be worse,~" he said. As he continued to speak, his eyes slowly widened and his voice rose. "~Could have Heartless com_ing_ _out of the __**water**__** Maru TURN AROUND**__**!~"**_

Maru turned and grimaced. Emerging from the river were huge (to them), deep reddish brown Heartless that greatly resembled lobsters. "Oh, great," he grumbled, summoning Wandereason. "Iso, focus on flying, you hear me?" he ordered sternly to the stern. He got a growling grunt in reply. "Figment, get ready! And Elliott, watch out, yourself!"

The dragons affirmed this before they began their fight across the river (titled simply "River" on the map). The lobster-like enemies, which Maru realized must have been based on crayfish, attacked by snapping at them with their claws or trying to get them to crash into them. Maru said to focus on getting across and not waste much time. 'How did the mice get across this without—oh, yeah, the Keyblade is a Heartless magnet...' They didn't stay to find out how soon the enemies went down, but Maru noticed they probably had high defense, judging by how much damage he dealt them. Navi later called them Crawpappies. Iso behaved, to Maru's surprise, and Elliott, who swatted away any Crawpappy that came near with his tail, guided them well.

"This fog is thick," Maru noted, looking around after they finally cleared the school of Crawpappies. He looked at Iso. "Iso, can you use Defog?" Blank stare. "...Nope, guess not..."

_ "Whoa!"_

_ "Uwah!"_

Maru turned to the sound. "That was the mice," he muttered.

"Full speed that-a-way, boys!" Figment pointed, standing at the helm.

"~Aye-aye, Cap'n!~" Elliott complied, turning the leaf while Iso flapped harder.

As they pushed through the fog, they saw the two crocs swimming away, undulating their bodies in perfect symmetry to each other and creating great turbulence for such small creatures as the two mice and one dragonfly were caught in the water between them. Bernard was just pulling up Miss Bianca from the water when the party saw them. The mice looked in horror as they saw the tails and the great disruption of water they made ahead.

They yelped as they crashed into it, the tails smacking water all around them and making them fly up as they passed by. When they landed, their poor boat had capsized. The three gasped out of the water and held onto their vessel.

"Great, the boat's been—been capsized," Bernard spluttered.

"It's sinking!" wailed Miss Bianca (whose hat was miraculously still on).

Evinrude buzzed in distress, trying to get out and fly it off with wet wings.

Suddenly, a patch of ice appeared on the water behind them. The mice and bug looked and saw Figment land on it. "Need some help?" he grinned, leaning down into the water and grabbing the stem before pulling it out, jumping off his breaking platform, and flying, pulling the boat upright. He landed back in his own boat, panting a little from the exertion. "Always wanted to try that ice platform trick!" he grinned.

"Thanks, Figment," Maru nodded to him. Figment returned a thumbs-up.

"You're helping us?" Bernard asked incredulously as he got back into the boat.

"Yeah," Maru nodded as Bernard helped Miss Bianca into the boat. Evinrude crawled up the side to the stem, panting, shook himself of water, and tested his wings with a couple buzzes. Maru looked behind him. "After _some_ persuasion, I admit."

Elliott raised an eyeridge at him.

"Well, thank you all the same," Miss Bianca nodded, smiling. "And you are...?"

"Maru, Figment, and Elliott," Maru introduced, indicating each. "And running our boat is Iso."

"Well, hello there!" Miss Bianca waved happily to everyone. The dragons waved back, but Iso just looked at her blankly.

Bernard was a little unnerved at the Heartless-Pokémon. "We'd, um, we'd better get going," he advised, pointing, "before they get away."

"Right," Maru nodded, and the two boats went on.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

The crocs came into the lounge of the riverboat. It was large, well-lit, and decently furnished, with a sofa, coffee table, vanity mirror, and, of all things, a pipe organ. A portly man in a yellow suit with sparse, odd brown hair, a thin mustache, and huge round glasses came in with them, raising his eyebrows and smiling. "Oh, well, you tried to run away, but it didn't work, now, did it?" he smirked, walking over to Penny as the crocs stopped. He had a somewhat pinched voice. He crouched down, tilting his head to a defeated-looking Penny and laughed.

Penny scowled over to Brutus. "Put me _down,_ Brutus!" she growled. Brutus gladly complied, Nero dropping Teddy as well. "Creepy old dragon," she muttered as she got up from the floor, collecting Teddy.

The man stood up and smiled at Brutus, patting his muzzle. "Good job, boys, good job," he said. The crocs snarled at him, growling, and the man began stumbling backwards. "N-Now, now, boys, steady, boys—steady—heel! _Heel!"_ By this time, he had been backed over to the couch, where he crawled up the back and tucked in his legs. The crocs grinned evilly up at him, snapping now and then.

Penny smiled at her teddy bear, dusting him off. "Now, now, Teddy, don't cry," she assured him gently. "I won't let them do that to you again." She hugged him.

The man, on the floor again after the crocs let him go, rolled his eyes as he went carefully around the crocs. He waggled his finger at Penny, frowning. "Now, you stay here this time, or I'm gonna feed your precious little teddy bear to Brutus and Nero," he threatened.

Penny shook her head and announced defiantly, "No, you will not! I'm not scared of 'em—like you," she pointed, "Mr. Snoops!"

Mr. Snoops frowned and pointed at Penny. "Now, don't you sass me!" He shook his head and, after adjusting his glasses, pushed Penny between the crocs to the stairs. "Ah, boys, take this naughty little girl to her room."

Penny stopped and turned, hand on hip, miffed. "I can go by myself," she informed shortly. She stamped her foot. _"Thank you." _And with a spin on the heel, she did just that.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

A few moments later, they heard a loud booming sound above, and they looked up. "GOT GIRL" was being spelled out in fireworks. "No! They got her again," Miss Bianca snapped her fingers. "Come on, we should get as close as we can! Hurry, Evinrude!"

Evinrude, panting again, nodded and buzzed harder, resolute-faced.

The group made land, shoring their boats up to the shore. As the mice disembarked, Evinrude staying behind and wheezing hard, Maru and Figment got out of their own boat. Elliott released Iso's tail and walked up the slope, emerging soggily from the water, but stopped midway, looking behind him, ears perking up. "~What's that?~" he muttered.

"Good job, Iso, thank you," Maru was saying, returning him. He looked at Elliott when he spoke. He heard something, too...a roaring. That was getting louder. As Figment fluttered up to see, too, Maru peered through the fog to see headlights and a dark shape coming right towards them. "Uh-oh..."

_"Hit the dirrrrt!"_ Figment cried as Madame Medusa, wearing a scowl, suddenly flew over them in her swampmobile, hitting the shore like a jump (and miraculously missing the leaves). Everyone slammed to the ground as she went by. A moment later, she skidded far off across the sand, still blasting along, making it to the gangplank ahead.

Maru got up, brushing himself off, and frowned after her. "I wanna kick whoever taught that woman how to drive," he grumbled.

"C'mon, we've got to get to Penny," Miss Bianca beckoned. The group nodded.

The map called the area "Mangrove Path", fittingly—along the sides of the long, wide path were the unique trees, spreading their spidery roots through air and water. Maru let Iso out as they encountered more Heartless, then realized that the mice couldn't defend themselves. "I have to make sure they're protected," he realized in a low voice, looking over his shoulder.

"Great, an escort mission," Navi groaned, having come out when Iso came out, ready to watch for back attackers.

Maru looked at Iso for a moment, then the Heartless. Some were Crawpappies, he noticed. He frowned uncertainly, then sighed. "Iso! Look after yourself!" he ordered.

Iso looked over his shoulder at Maru. Blank. Then, he nodded with a grunt and went off on his own. He gave a mighty Dragon Claw to a Crawpappy, doing a decent amount of damage.

Maru, who had long ago extended Scan to keep a mental eye on his comrades' health when not even looking at them, monitored Iso's health offhand, ready to recall him. He was already a sixth from fainting, so he had to be ready for anything. 'No Ice attacks, no Ice attacks...' In the meantime, he went nearby the mice, who had huddled together, holding up an umbrella that, to Maru's amazement and relief, successfully defended against frontal attacks. It had a recoil, however, so quick follow-ups could harm them. 'Makes this a bit easier, then...' He decided to watch their health as well.

Midway through the brawl, Maru sensed Iso take another hit, barely withstanding it. '1 HP!' "Iso, return!" he called, whipping out his Monster Ball and recalling Iso (incidentally feeling a chance in the Keyblade when he did this). The white beam shot out and homed in to Iso with a little light telekinetic help. (He noticed Iso had also entered Hyper Mode again.)

They discovered that Crawpappies were (naturally to Maru) weak to electricity, so Figment used Thunder on them. They were also slow and awkward on land, but their high defense and strength—and their huge claws—made them formidable in close combat. After clearing the path without too much damage to the mice, the group went onwards to the gangplank.

After clambering up the widely-ribbed board, they found themselves on the riverboat. It looked as if, long ago, the boat had been truly resplendent, but now, half-sunken and the headquarters of a deranged middle-aged woman, it had become another part of the gloom that surrounded Devil's Bayou. Before them was the brightly-lit lounge of the boat, visible through the open doorway. They saw Madame Medusa, hair and ugly dress revealed, inside arguing with Mr. Snoops about his inability to look after Penny while he took off her boots. She held a cane like a simple scepter in her hand.

The group looked through for a moment before Bernard looked at them. "We should find another way in so we don't get caught," he whispered. He waved his arm to the side of the boat. "Let's—go around. Then we can listen for any, uh, clues."

"Good idea," Miss Bianca agreed. The group jogged after. Maru noted that his map didn't cover the riverboat.

They didn't encounter any Heartless as they trotted around to the port side. The two humans' argument could be half-heard through the walls. "Wait, there, look!" Bernard pointed. The group looked to see...

"...Shoot, I forget what these are called," Figment muttered as they went over to it, crossing his arms. "These big, metal, J-curved things sticking out of the decks of steamships and riverboats and the like, kinda like a cross between a pipe and a phonograph or something...All out in the open for some stupid little kid to fall down them..."

"Well, point is, this'll get us into the ventilation system," Maru said as he watched Bernard take a mouse-sized grappling hook, swing it, and then throw it up to the rim of the J-pipe. Maru crossed his arms. "I have a feeling things might get hairy up ahead..."

"Then we'll go when you're ready," Miss Bianca said. "But please, hurry..."

Maru nodded and trotted around to the other side of the J-pipe. He looked around. 'Doesn't seem like there are any enemies coming,' he thought. 'I don't feel the hairs on the back of my neck or anything...should be safe. Now, what did Chip and Dale tell me to do?...' A short moment later, he had set up a temporary save point (the kind with the geas spinning around, which he can't use to access the Gummi Ship) and used it to heal him and the dragons. He found that it healed Iso, as well. 'Good, that way I can conserve my remaining Potions from home...though I suppose the Potions around here work, too...'

"Let's get going," Maru nodded as they jogged back from behind the pipe. The mice went up the rope first, then Maru, then Figment, then (gulping at such a thin cord) Elliott. Bernard collected his hook, then they slid down the pipe and into the ship.

They found themselves in a very dimly-lit passageway lined with metal. 'A ventilation duct,' Maru realized, feeling the gentle breeze of air flowing about. The group had a short Heartless skirmish along the way (Maru decided to save Iso for a larger space), but they eventually made it to the end—which appeared to be a dead one. Above, slits of light filtered through, and they heard the arguing again. 'A slatted vent cover...'

"H-Hold on," Bernard said, striding forwards. "Gimme some, ah, room..." After everyone cleared, he swung his grappling hook up again, and the group climbed up. The slats were tight, but flexible enough that the mice, then everyone could squeeze past them.

"Elliott, suck it in," Maru hissed when he saw his corpulent comrade have some trouble getting through.

As Elliott exited the vent, Maru looked around. They were underneath the vanity mirror set against the wall of the lounge. Ahead, they saw the crocs resting by the couch, where Medusa and Mr. Snoops were talking. Medusa was reclining in stocking feet while Mr. Snoops was standing. The taller members of the group crouched down and began to eavesdrop.

"Well, it was _your_ idea to use a little girl for this little caper, if you'd-a listened to _me—"_ complained Mr. Snoops, waving his arms around.

_"Snoops?"_ interrupted Medusa with an edge. When she had his attention, she sing-songed, "You're not think-ing..."

Mr. Snoops sighed and bobbed his head. "I know, I know, she's the only one small enough to fit down the black hole," he admitted.

"Yes," Medusa nearly moaned, starting to scowl again. "But why can't she find my _big_ diamond?"

"I don't know," Mr. Snoops threw up his hands, walking over to the vanity (making everyone step back). He gathered up a handful of various gems and strings of pearls with a smile before going back to Medusa. "But—But _look_ at these beauties she's brought up from the cave! Heh, they'll sell for a _lotta_ cold, hard cash!"

Medusa smacked his hands with her cane, making him drop the treasure, sending them flying. The group had to dodge away from stray gems before they were hit by what, to them, were essentially expensive shaped boulders. "OWWwwwWW!" Mr. Snoops whined, shaking his hands as this happened. He sucked his fingers. "I wish you wouldn't do _that..."_

"She's insane," Miss Bianca commented. "Utterly mad!"

"I _want_ that diamond," Medusa shook her cane. She squeezed her eyes and waved her arms up and down, in and out. "I've _got_ to have the Devil's _Eye!"_ She opened her eyes and pointed at Mr. Snoops, getting up. "You didn't leave her down in the cave long enough," she accused.

"She doesn't take orders," complained Mr. Snoops, backing up. He stopped when Medusa's long-nailed finger pressed his big nose.

"You are too _soft,"_ smirked Medusa slowly, wiggling his nose.

"But the tide was coming in," Mr. Snoops continued, waving both arms, "the water was rushing up, and all she did was stand down there and whine about her teddy bear getting wet..." He stood and shook his head mockingly at this last part.

"Snoooops," Medusa cooed, turning his face back to her with her cane as she sat at the other end of the couch. Her pets came over. She was smiling, speaking softly. "You don't have a way with children." She put her cane down and motioned with her arms towards her, "You must _gain_ their confidence—" she reached and hugged one of the crocs (who smiled), "—_make_ them like you..."

Mr. Snoops smiled and raised an eye. "Yeah? How d'you do that?" he asked.

"You _force_ them to like you, idiot!" Medusa suddenly snapped, swinging her cane and making him duck. She put it down again, pointing downwards and smiling once more. "At the next low tide, I am going to put her down there..." She pressed her hands to herself. "...myself, and I will _keep_ her there until she finds it." She took her cane again and prodded it at Mr. Snoops, frowning yet again. "And it is as simple as _that."_

Mr. Snoops stared at the rounded tip, cross-eyed, for a moment before going, "Well, uh, simple as that, huh?" He chuckled. "Well, you're the boss, uh...boss."

"Yeess..." Medusa rose and started to walk out, swaying her hips side to side with a bounce while carrying her cane over her shoulder. "Now, come along, my pets..." She began humming. Mr. Snoops left out another door.

Maru looked daggers at Medusa as she departed. 'That bitch...She's taking advantage of a poor girl for her own gain...!' He suddenly realized something that made him blink, then give a full-on Glare at her as she closed the door. 'She's just like Giovanni, when he took advantage of me, when I was still confused...' He looked down shamefully. '...Except I wager I was...more clueless than Penny...'

"We gotta get Penny outta here _tonight,"_ asserted Bernard, turning to the group.

"Right, but how?" asked Maru, crossing his arms and frowning in thought like Bernard. "We're a bit on the small side, and there're those two crocs, and we don't even know where Penny is..."

"Well, we can use our size to our advantage," Miss Bianca smiled. "We can hide behind a lot of things you humans normally can't." She cocked her head. "Why _are_ you so small, anyway?" she wondered. Behind them, Brutus and Nero started to follow their mistress, passing by the vanity.

Maru sweatdropped, glancing at Figment, who shook his head. "Ahhh..."

"~We should get going,~" Elliott suggested quickly.

"Yes, we should get going," Maru agreed. He watched the crocs. "Just as soon as those two pass..."

Just then, one of them stopped. "?" He closed his eyes and began sniffing.

Bernard looked at this in horror. "Oh no...Bianca," he whispered, glancing at her. "They smell your perfume..."

"Oh, _dear,"_ Miss Bianca gaped, _"oops"_ written all over her face as she pressed it with her paws.

"See? This is why perfume is a bad idea," Figment said, waggling a claw and frowning a bit. "And coming from _me,_ that's saying something."

By now, the other croc had come alongside his partner, and both were sniffing the air, perhaps pleased looks on their faces...before both raised an eyeridge and smirked as they looked down and to the side behind them. They began prowling over, one low to the ground like a dog on the hunt.

_"This_ can't be good," Figment muttered as they pressed against the wall, the green snout pushing up the vanity.

Bernard, protecting Bianca, tried whacking away the snout with the umbrella, but his sweater got snagged, and he was pulled away, yelling. The croc pulled him up and smirked down at him triumphantly. Then Bernard smacked him on the snout, making him open his mouth and drop the mouse. As soon as he landed, Bernard set off at a run.

"Oh, for the love of—" Maru set out at a run after them. The dragons ran behind.

The crocs snapped at Bernard for a moment before suddenly being hit in behind by a spray of tiny stars. They stopped and turned at this odd pain to see Maru standing there, Wandereason in hand. "Hey, you leather-heads!" he mocked, beckoning. "Over here!" He turned and began running with his teammates.

The crocs gladly took chase. Meanwhile, Miss Bianca crept out and ran to Bernard, then both ran to the pipe organ between the twin sets of stairs. They got underneath the pedals and disappeared.

Maru, meanwhile, ran to the wall, reaching a window with purple curtains. He saw the curtains and got an idea. "Figment, get those curtains down!" he pointed.

"Right!" Figment jumped to Elliott, who caught him and hucked him to the curtains. Figment sailed as high as he could, then flew the rest of the way up. He readied a few cards before, with a grunt, releasing them at the curtain rings. They broke, dropping the sheet right onto the crocs below, who had just caught up with the other two. Figment dived, then retrieved Maru and Elliott from the curtain and the two thrashing crocs. "Nice plan, Maru!" he complimented as they ran to the organ.

"Thanks, I'm glad it worked," Maru nodded back. They soon reached the organ and went under the pedals, too.

A moment later, Bernard peeked from within a pipe to look out. The crocs had extricated themselves and had come over to the organ. He hid away when one got close, pressing against the wall of the pipe, Miss Bianca close to him. A reptilian eye appeared in the hole of the pipe, looking around inside, while Bernard and Miss Bianca waited. It dipped down, and they sighed in relief, still panting.

'Glad that's ov—' Maru began to think in a pipe of his own before the organ began to be played. The air pushed everyone up and out of the pipes. A green paw snapped out at them, but missed as they fell back down inside. Outside, while Brutus(?) sat and energetically played the organ with wide eyes, somewhat reminiscent of a playing cat, Nero(? it's impossible to tell the two apart) stayed on the landing above the organ's pipes, ready to snatch. Nero made a "darn" air punch when he came up dry.

"What the—?" Maru muttered as he landed again. He looked out and saw the croc at the keys. "...He looks like he's having _fun_...This is all a _game_ to them? Whoa!" He shot up again, his pipe played when Brutus made a rapid scale up. He turned in midair, cloak fluttering up around him, and saw the other's paw flying towards him. He snarled and swatted it away with his Keyblade, making Nero grunt and whip his paw back. Maru fell down into his pipe again and snarled up and behind him. "Well, then, we'll just have to beat them at it," he asserted.

The "game" began. All the time, the music was quite interesting, being almost random as Brutus tried to get the right notes to shoot someone out. 'There's no possible way I can have Iso help out,' Maru thought. 'The arena is too confined...' Maru realized he had two options for movement after a few launches out of the organ and feeling some chances in the Keyblade: He could switch pipes in midair when he was fully out by a quick boost of telekinesis, or he could duck and dive out of the slat at the bottom when grounded, grabbing edges and jumping between pipes (there was too much distance between slat and running surface, that being the music stand) before re-entering other pipes. He noted that Figment and Elliott could also switch pipes in midair, and Figment could potentially escape out the slats; Elliott doing the latter, however, was questionable at best. Maru had to avoid getting grabbed by Brutus when low and snatched by Nero when high. Everyone also had to deal with Brutus poking in every now and then.

"We have to aim for their heads," Maru called to his teammates when they were in midair the next time after they began. "I doubt we can knock them out at this size, but we can at least daze them both and make a break for it!"

Figment, switching pipes to be nearer him when Nero tried to get him, nodded. "Right! Let's see what happens if we hurt ugly here's paw a lot," he suggested, pointing to Nero. They dropped again as Brutus stopped playing.

"What about the mice?" Navi asked from Maru's cloak when he landed.

Maru peeked out and saw Brutus playing, looking into other pipes with an excited smile. "We should be more interesting, I would think," he replied, ducking back in when Brutus came around. He went too quickly for Maru to hit, and he was blown up when he came by, too. In the air again, he noticed that sometimes, Bernard and Miss Bianca would get blown to different pipes, occupying them. 'I doubt I can enter a pipe that one of them occupies.'

Maru began working on Nero, since he was the greater threat. Nero didn't always go for him each time; he sometimes swiped at the mice, who were too quick and nimble to get caught, and whenever he swatted at either dragon, his paw was repelled. Sometimes, he tried with both paws—in that case, the victim would have to switch pipes quickly to avoid getting snatched. After enough hits on a single paw, Nero would growl and rest it over one of the pipes nearby whoever hit it last, resting it for a moment. Maru was the one to do so the first time, so he switched over to it, landing on top of the paw.

He quickly raced up the arm and jumped onto Nero's head. He noticed he had about 400 HP. 'This is gonna take a bit,' he grumbled. He managed to land a few combos between the eyes, techniques, and moves, taking off a considerable chunk, before Nero tossed him up with an annoyed flick of his snout. (The reason he hadn't attacked before was because he was A) too busy trying to grab weird little animal things from the pipe organ with his other paw and B) pretty sure he'd hurt himself or the toy he wanted to play with longer if he tried to snatch him off his face.) While airborne, Maru felt a chance as he glanced at Nero's widening jaws. "Nice try!" Maru scoffed, giving a quick Strike Raid to the nose. This caused Nero to snap shut prematurely, letting Maru land safely on the snout before being thrown towards the organ again.

Later on, poor Elliott, still unable to use any ranged attacks or figure anything out in time when he was victim to this tossing and biting attack, found out what would happen should Maru or Figment fail to bop the nose in time: He was snapped up, taking a good deal of damage, but he fought hard enough to get spat out again towards the pipe he had come from. The same tossing up happened whenever one wasn't able to smack the paw away in time and they were caught, except the grab caused damage, as well.

Meanwhile, Maru landed again and found himself facing Brutus once more. 'I should spread the damage evenly between them if I can,' he strategized. 'That way, once one is dazed, I can quickly take care of the other and get us out of here.' He exited his pipe and baited slaps and snaps by Brutus, hitting in time, as well. (If one was caught by Brutus, the same tossing sequence Nero put them through occurred.) When he struck his paw enough times, he also set it down, this time on the music stand (which had some music in front of it). Figment was the first to do this, this time, and he went in to strike. Maru followed soon after, and they dealt a good 100 or so HP of damage before both were thrown. Figment tossed a couple cards at his muzzle to shut him up.

Neither Brutus nor Nero tried anything special during the brawl, focusing only on playing catch-the-critter. Aside from the tight quarters of the pipes and the randomness of being blown upwards (as well as the higher difficulty in attacking Brutus' paws, though smacking his fingers when he stuck them into the pipes occasionally counted as significant damage for that paw), the only truly annoying part of the skirmish was that Maru, Figment, and Elliott couldn't tell what each other was doing at all times. This was how they ended up dazing Brutus well before they did Nero. When they had dazed the organist, his eyes swam in circles while he played completely randomly, and the fighter leapt back to the organ. This random playing allowed them to reach Nero. However, by the time they had dazed Nero, his fellow reptile had roused himself. Maru noticed two things: It took about 30 seconds for Brutus to revive (which itself was a fairly sluggish action), and after he had, his HP had only been restored to 150. 'Well, that's some consolation,' he thought. 'But half a minute isn't much time...Oh, I wish I had Disable or Confusion...'

It was tricky, but eventually, the final hit was given to one croc before the other recovered. As it was, it felt as if time and space had slowed, every movement lagging, blurring as it continued at fractional speed for a moment. Maru realized the same thing had happened after he had defeated that beast from Nightsky City.

**)))Maru BONUS GET! Attack Up)))**

**)))Figment BONUS GET! Attack Up)))**

**)))Elliott BONUS GET! Attack Up)))**

Brutus stopped playing, swayed, and fell backwards. Nero hung his upper body over the railing of the landing.

Maru dipped his head out of his pipe and looked around. "Bernard! Miss Bianca!" he called. Bernard poked his head out of the pipe directly left of his, while Miss Bianca stuck hers out of the one directly right. "C'mon, we need to run while they're dazed!" Maru beckoned, jumping down.

"Right!" Bernard agreed, hopping out. Miss Bianca did the same, as did Figment.

"Are we all ready?" Miss Bianca asked, looking at everyone. "Wait, what about—"

_"Urk!"_ Heads turned to see Elliott trying his best to squeeze out of the hole, sucking his belly in as far as he could.

"Elliott..." Maru groaned, running over to him. He jumped up, grabbed an arm, and yanked as hard as he could, assisted by gravity. _"H'oof!"_

Elliott popped out with a yelp, landing on top of Maru. "~Sorry, Maru,~" he apologized sheepishly, quickly getting up off of him.

"Shut up and let's go!" Maru urged, beckoning as he got up. The group dashed out, hopping down onto Brutus' belly and then to the carpet.

"To the door!" Miss Bianca cried, pointing to the front door, which was still ajar. They raced at top speed.

"What is all this _racket?"_ demanded Madame Medusa, broom in hand, as she strode in from another doorway, scowling. She looked at the organ and blinked at the sight of her incapacitated pets. "Huh?"

'Uh-oh,' Maru thought, looking up in horror as Medusa came in.

Medusa noticed the movement below and screeched, backing up against the wall and dropping the broom. _"EEE**YAAAAHHHHHHH!** MIIIICE! SNOOOOPS! _**_SNOOOOOOOOOPS!" _**She pointed and got up on a chair.

Mr. Snoops came immediately, and the crocs were roused instantly by the screams. "I'll get 'em, Medusa!" Mr. Snoops assured, stomping over and picking up the broom.

_"Scatter!"_ Maru hissed to everyone with an arm swing, and they split off before the broom head came down on them.

Mr. Snoops swung down at Maru and Elliott with his broom as they tried to go to the front door, then tried stepping on Figment as he came over to try and distract him by dashing around his feet. Meanwhile, the crocs were trying to get to the mice, failing; they were just too nimble for the large reptiles.

Brutus was in mid-lunge when suddenly, a loud shot rang out and his resilient rump was hit by a black object, flipping him up.

Everyone stopped and turned to see Madame Medusa had taken a rifle and was firing at the mice. Which meant _everything._ Maru looked at her, then at the mice, who were moderately close to the door. He nodded, getting out Iso after hiding under the coffee table. "Iso! Use Fly and grab Bernard and Miss Bianca, then carry them out that door!" he ordered quickly, pointing to the mice, then to the door. _"Hurry!"_

Iso grunted and flew off at top speed. The mice squeaked as a giant arm wrapped around each of them. Iso lifted off, flying to the door.

Medusa, who had forced Mr. Snoops and the crocs to take cover behind furniture, looked up as she saw the black thing flying off with the mice. "Oh, no, you _don't!"_ she seethed, taking aim.

Maru's eyes widened to dinner plates. _"No!"_ He ran out, trying to get her attention, looking at Iso...

_BLAM._

Maru's heart caught as he heard the shot. Things seemed to move in slow motion for a moment again. The bullet soared to the Heartless-Pokémon. _'Iso...!'_

Then, time zapped back to normal as Iso zapped out of existence—then back in a little bit away. He had blurred away, like a dodge during Quick Attack.

Maru stopped and raised his eyebrows. "What the...? I didn't tell him to dodge..."

Medusa blinked for a moment before snarling and firing again, making sure to keep aim. Iso flitted away once more. Her eyes grew enormously wide, fury blazing from them, as she aimed and fired, aimed and fired. "Hold—" _BLAM**zip!**_ _"—still—"_ _BLAM**zip!**_ "—you—" _BLAM**zip!**_ _"—pest!"_ _BLAM**zip!**_

Maru watched in fascination as, each time, Iso appeared to teleport away at the last second. He wasn't even looking behind him while he did this. 'This is incredible,' he marveled. 'He's dodging bullets like it were nothing...Is this an Ability?'

Suddenly, a hollow click was heard. Medusa looked at her gun, snarling and grumbling. "Fool thing's jammed," she declared before muttering incomprehensible curses under her breath as she tried to get it to work. Mr. Snoops and the crocs cautiously peeked from their shields of an upturned table and the sofa.

Maru, having snapped his attention back to her, nodded. "C'mon!" he called to the dragons, and they all dashed out, Figment behind Maru, then Elliott behind him. They made it out the door a moment later, first Iso with the mice, flying over to the water and down, then Maru, then Figment, then Elliott. Elliott looked behind him, seeing her with the gun and getting a bad feeling, before gasping and putting on a burst of speed. He grabbed up his allies in one arm each before jumping. The bullet from the unjammed gun flew under him and blew a hole in the railing of the boat. He fell down into the water below, out of range as they all splashed into the night bog.

Maru gasped for air when they bobbed up again. He looked at a wheezing Elliott, who was kicking as hard as he could. "Thanks," he nodded. Elliott nodded back.

_"We_ should be thanking _you,_ Maru," Miss Bianca said. The trio turned to look at Iso hovering over the water with the two mice in his arms. They smiled and waved.

"Yeah, if it weren't for your pal here, we'd be, ah...in deep trouble," Bernard commented, smiling nervously. They heard a buzzing and looked. Evinrude was pushing his boat over. Bernard waved. "Over here, Evinrude!"

"No problem," Maru smiled, looking up at Iso, who gave that same blank stare back. "Iso's strong and faster than you'd think."

"Faster than I've ever seen, is more like it," Miss Bianca commented as Evinrude came below. She looked up at Iso. "Iso, dear, could you please let us down now?" Nothing.

"Iso, let them down now," Maru commanded. Iso set them onto the leaf before coming back to Maru. Maru looked at him as Miss Bianca continued.

"When that madwoman Medusa shot at us, Iso suddenly jerked aside so fast, I thought my neck would snap," the mouse continued, adjusting her hat.

"Yeah, it was almost like magic," Bernard agreed.

Miss Bianca chuckled. "Bernard, dear, you sound so surprised! We're dealing with a tiny little purple-haired man and three dragons," she pointed out bemusedly.

"Oh, uh..." Bernard blushed, holding his paws and looking down. "I, uh, guess you got a point, there..."

"We should get to shore," Figment advised. He looked worriedly at Elliott, who was starting to sink a little. "Before _our_ boat sinks..."

Maru sighed and looked over at Iso again. "Iso, was that an Ability?" he asked.

Blank.

Maru smirked. "I bet it was," he said. "I've never heard of it in all my life. For the moment, I'm going to call it 'Bullet Dodge'." He looked at Elliott. "Now, Iso, please help fly us to shore." Iso complied, grabbing Elliott by the shoulders and dragging him along through the water as Evinrude pushed the mice to shore.

The group made land at a small alcove of dirt on the shore, surrounded by an equivalent eight feet of earthy walls. Trees grew all around, and grass covered the upper portions. The map included it as part of the bayou, calling it just that, "Alcove". Evinrude, breathing heavily again, stopped as the mice got out of their leaf, somber-faced.

"Did you see that? She tried to _shoot_ us," Bernard gesticulated, turning and sitting on a pebble sticking from the ground.

"Bernard?" Miss Bianca walked over to him, uncertain. Behind her, Iso pulled the others up, Elliott dropping the purple ones before dropping onto his back on land, panting hard. Iso landed, breathing a little hard, himself. Maru waded out and crouched to squeeze the water from his pants.

Bernard sighed. "It's just...I'm not so sure about this, anymore, Bianca," he admitted.

Miss Bianca frowned a little, sitting on another pebble nearby him. "It's hard, indeed, Bernard," she admitted. She looked down. "It's such a big job...and we're so small..."

Maru heard this and looked up. "A big job..." He looked down at himself, face falling. "That's right..." He looked up at the stars above. "Trying to save my world...somehow, someway...It's a really big job..." He looked at himself again, pressing his chest. "And, compared to it all, I'm...I'm so small..."

Elliott, hearing this, frowned. He sat up and looked first at the depressed mice, then the angsty teen. He humphed loudly, drawing their attention, and he crossed his arms. "~Nope,~" he grunted, shaking his head and giving them a look that said all that he needed to.

Miss Bianca raised her eyebrows before closing her fist, nodding resolutely. "Bernard," she addressed, looking down at him. "We _can't_ give up now! The Rescue Aid Society is relying on us!"

Bernard blinked at this. "You're..." He shook his head and beat a fist in his palm. "Bianca? You're right!" he declared. "Everyone's counting on us—the Rescue Aid Society _and_ Penny!" He stood up. "We can't let a little setback stop us. We can't give up when people are counting on us. We can't let them down."

Maru stood, too. 'Counting on us...on me...' he mulled, holding his chin. He nodded and turned to the surrounding trees. "We've gotta get back there," he stated, crouching and jumping to the ledge. He grabbed the edge and hoisted himself up, disappearing. "Penny's waiting for us, and Bernard's right—" He reappeared, hopping down with another large leaf in tow. "—Letting someone down so easily when they decided to put their trust in _you_, of all people, is unforgivable."

"That's the spirit, Maru!" Miss Bianca smiled, clapping her paws. "Let's go back and save Penny!"

Maru went over to Iso, smiling up at him. "You've been a real trooper, Iso," he said. "Thank you so much. I don't know if you're counting on me, but...you can be sure I'm counting on you."

Blank.

After Iso had set down the leaf in the water, everyone took a moment to rest a little (all their wounds healing as if they had hit a save point). Everyone went about their own thing, and Maru decided to check how everyone was feeling. Iso stood at his leaf, waiting, and said nothing when Maru approached, though he looked at him. 'Is he ever going to speak...?' Maru wondered.

"~Penny's under the control of someone so unstable...I'm worried,~" Elliott mumbled when Maru checked up on him. "~We need to save her quick, Maru!~"

"Man, I hope we don't get leeches from being in the water that long," Figment commented. "Though Elliott's the one in the most danger, having to drag through the water like that..."

"I don't know why or how you got so small, but I'm glad you're helping," Miss Bianca said.

"I'm glad he helped us, but Iso's kinda...well, no offense, but he's...well, unnerving," Bernard admitted.

Finally, Maru went to Evinrude. He perked up when he got close. 'He looks like he's wondering if it's time to go,' Maru thought. He nodded, and Evinrude buzzed affirmatively.

The party got back into their own boat while the mice got into Evinrude's. "We need to find another way onto the ship," Miss Bianca asserted. "Maybe we could climb up some ropes?"

Maru's boat led them around the bayou, the map calling the waters around the boat just "Bayou". As they went through the water, more Crawpappies and Bloodsuckers appeared, and Maru had to keep an eye on the mice's health again while fighting with Figment. Eventually, they made it around to the other side of the vessel. They found a rope sticking into the water, leading up to other ropes on that side. As they approached it (exiting the Bayou area on the map), the mice looked up.

On the third-level deck, Penny stood against the railing outside, looking around with a dejected look on her face. She was in a yellow nightgown, Teddy in her arms.

"Look, it's Penny," pointed Miss Bianca.

Bernard looked at the ropes, following them with his eyes. "Looks like these ropes lead to her level," he noted. "Evinrude, park us by the rope, please." Evinrude buzzed a nod.

"Evinrude, could you keep an eye on our boat, too?" Maru asked as he recalled Iso, having parked his own boat a moment after the mice. Evinrude nodded to him, too. "Thanks."

The group made their way up the rope, the mice fine as they scampered along with their claws. Maru kept his balance very well. 'I guess my jumping and agility aren't the only feline traits this body inherited,' he mused as he trotted along. Elliott had to go up slowly, Figment walking only slightly faster than him.

On the way up the moderate series of ropes on the side of the ship, Figment stopped, looking to the bow of the ship. He saw Brutus and Nero pacing about by the gangplank. "Uh-oh," he muttered. He turned to Maru behind him. "Maru, check it out—the crocs are guarding the gangplank," he reported.

Maru looked and frowned. "So they are...This might complicate things." They continued up.

By the time the group had made its way up, Penny had already returned inside. The ropes led to a window into the room she had gone inside. Judging from the position on the boat, Maru guessed it to be the pilot-house. They looked down from the window to see her kneeling at her fold-open bed, hands clasped in prayer. A little nightcap was on Teddy. The candle behind her on a crate was out.

"Dear God," she began. "Please look over Teddy, Rufus, and all the kids at the orphanage—Jennifer, Bobby, Mary, and Joey...and please let someone find me a father or mother, or some way out of here, because running away isn't working. Amen." By now, her voice was starting to crack. She turned to Teddy and patted his head. "Don't worry, Teddy," she assured him, tears starting to come down, "we'll...we'll be...alright!" She put her face to her arms on her bed and began to cry.

The mice had gotten through the window by now, coming through a hole in the glass. They frowned in worry at Penny and each other, then scurried down to her. Maru grunted as he got through the window behind them. The mice went around the perimeter of the room, going down to the bed. They landed on the pillow and approached her. "Oh, dear, don't cry," Miss Bianca cooed as she neared.

Penny slowly lifted her head and turned to the mice. She didn't seem surprised to see the talking rodents. "Who are you?" she sniffed.

"I'm Bernard," Bernard introduced, putting a paw on his chest.

"And I'm Miss Bianca," Miss Bianca supplied, smiling and doing the same. Behind the mice, Maru, Figment, and Elliott were busy navigating the room to reach them. Elliott wore a very worried face, looking at her when he didn't need to look where he was going. "We're from the Rescue Aid Society. We're here to help you, Penny."

Penny wiped her nose. "Really?" The mice nodded. Her eyebrows went up. "How'd you find me?"

"The Rescue Aid Society got a message, in a bottle," Bernard explained.

"That was _your_ message we got, Penny," Miss Bianca pointed. "We did some investigating and found out you were here."

"Didja hear that, Teddy?" Penny enthusiastically stood, holding her teddy bear and smiling. "Our bottle worked!" She looked back at them. "Didn't you bring somebody big with you? Like the police?" she asked.

At this point, Maru, Figment, and Elliott had arrived. Penny raised her eyebrows at them as she saw them. The mice solemnly shook their heads at the question, then turned to follow her gaze. "I'm sorry, Penny," Miss Bianca apologized quietly, frowning at her. "The only other people with us right now are Maru and his dragons."

"And, well, they're not exactly 'big'," chuckled Bernard.

While Maru frowned at Bernard, crossing his arms, at this, Elliott ran as fast as he could over to Penny, stumbling over the covers once. "~Penny! Are you alright? Have you been hurt?~" he asked breathlessly when he reached her, breathing heavily. He gazed at her with a face wrought with concern.

Penny giggled at the little dragon. "I'm okay," she assured him. "But that stupid Brutus..." She stood and turned, lifting her dress with a frown. Her panties had a few holes in the back. "He ruined my pants!"

Elliott breathed a huge sigh of relief, putting a paw to his chest. "Hrr_oooooo!_ ~That's good. I was so worried about you...~"

Maru looked at him in interest. 'He's never even met her, but he sounds sincere...why?'

Penny knelt down again, frowning a little. "But..." she trailed off.

Miss Bianca smiled and shook her head. "Oh, Penny, if we all work together, and have a little faith, we'll get out of here," she insisted.

Penny raised her eyebrows, smiling. "Yeah, you're right," she said, waggling a finger. "Just like Rufus said!"

"Rufus, the cat?" checked Bernard thoughtfully. "Bianca and I questioned him during our investigation..."

_"You, now—You listen to me, darlin'," a gruff, yet kind voice said. "You're something _extra-special."

_ "No, I'm not," Penny's voice replied dejectedly._

_In the orphanage one late afternoon, Penny was leaning on a windowsill, depressed. Rufus, an old tan cat with spectacles, a red scarf, and a bushy white mustache made his way up a chair by the window, insisting, "Why, someday, a mom and a papa will come to the orphanage looking for a—" He paused to get up onto the windowsill. "—pretty little girl just like you."_

_ Penny looked at him, showing the gap in her front teeth. "Honest?" she asked quietly._

_ "I'll bet my whiskers on it!" assured Rufus, making her smile. "But..._you've_ got to _believe_ it," he added. He touched his face to hers, both smiling. "Keep the faith, sweetheart." They looked out the window together. "You see that blue bird?" he asked._

_ Outside, on a sparse-leaved tree, buildings with hanging clothes between them behind it, sat a little blue bird. "Yes, I do," Penny replied._

_ "Heh..." The blue bird hopped to a branch, then flew off as Rufus spoke, the two looking up to a star beginning to shine in the slowly-darkening sky:_

_ Faith is a blue bird_

_ You see from afar_

_ It's for real, and for sure_

_ As the first evening star_

_ You can't touch it, or buy it_

_ Or wrap it up tight_

_ But it's there just the same_

_ Making things turn out right_

"Yup! That's what he said!" Penny giggled, holding Teddy. "Faith makes things turn out right."

Maru, having listened to the mice recite the poem and hearing this summary, held his chin. "'Faith makes things turn out right', huh?..." he mumbled. 'Faith...Maybe I should have a little more faith, too...'

"Penny, I know it's late, but...we have to go tonight," asserted Bernard, getting down to business as he put his fists on his hips. "They're going to make you go out again tomorrow morning..."

Maru shook his head. "That's not going to be easy," he pointed out.

"When we were climbing up, we saw Brutus and Nero guarding the gangplank," Figment informed. "And I doubt we could swim for it..."

Miss Bianca frowned, fists on hips. "Oh, those vicious monsters! They oughtta be locked up, in a cage!" she grumped.

At this, Penny's face lit up. "I know, I know!" she said brightly, then beckoned. "C'mon, I'll show ya!"

Maru, sensing that the pilot-house was safe, set up a save disc by the candle and used it. Everyone else took the opportunity to rest a little bit, talking to each other, while Penny stood by the bed, waiting patiently. He noticed that there was a large chest next to an old telegraph (used to relay messages to the boiler room). He made his way over to it and opened it. "Ah, finally!" he smiled as he caught the map to the boat.

*****OBTAINED Riverboat Map*****

_Map of the riverboat. The Keyblade icon indicates facing. Red lines indicate exits to other areas. Worldwide map part now viewable on the Touch Screen._

According to the map, they were, indeed, in the pilot-house. Maru went down and, because he felt he should _try_ and at least _act_ social, spoke with everyone again, like at the alcove. "So, wait, Bernard, Miss Bianca, you, Navi, AND Penny can all understand Elliott, but I can't?" Figment complained. "That's kinda unfair..."

"~I'm so relieved that Penny's okay,~" Elliott said, smiling. "~She must be really tough.~"

"If we can't get out tonight, what'll we do?" Bernard wondered.

"All this humidity is making it hard for my fur to dry," grumbled Miss Bianca. "I hope we can get Penny out of here soon!"

Maru also found Navi hanging out near the save disc. "I've decided to hang out nearby save discs when we're in safe places like this, where we can all talk and stuff," she explained. "Go ahead and ask me how we're all hangin' in there and stuff!"

Maru nodded. "I'll keep that in mind," he said. He wondered what to ask about for a moment. "...How much farther do you think we are to the Keyhole?"

"The Keyhole? Hmmmm...Well, I'm no expert, but I'd say we're maybe halfway there?" Navi guessed. "Anything else?"

"...Any predictions on what's ahead?"

"I'm feeling like we're going to have some time on our hands pretty soon. We might wanna go and train a bit. Anything else?"

'I wonder...' "...What's your opinion between me and my pokémon right now?"

"You mean Iso? Lemme see him." Maru let him out, and Navi examined him for a moment. "Let's see...As you can see, his shadowy aura has gone down significantly since you caught him," she began. "We'll measure this by something I'll call a Heart Gauge. That said, looks like he's been purified by...62% already? Wow!" She looked at Iso again. "Hmmm...I'd say that calling him out of Hyper Mode is the best way to purify him, though battling with him is a close second. Since he's still a Shadow Pokémon, I can't tell if he likes you or not." She flew down again. "Anything else?"

'I bet having him out so much helps, too, and with all the help he's been giving us today...' Maru nodded, returning Iso. "Thanks, Navi. What's on your mind?"

"It's kinda stuffy in that collar, what with the humidity here, but I'm fine. And don't worry about me, I'm safe and sound in there, as is all your stuff," she added. "I've been using some minor magic to dry things off when you get wet."

"Really? Thank you!" Maru smiled. Navi bobbed and Maru went over to Penny.

"Um...You're Mr. Maru, right?" Penny checked when he spoke to her from the edge of the bed. "Whenever you're ready, I got somethin' to show you!"

Maru nodded. "We're ready, Penny," he said.

"C'mon, follow me!" Penny beckoned excitedly. They followed her out the door to the balcony from before, at the stern of the ship. She pointed down a set of stairs, leaning on a railing, and they saw a portion of the middle deck cut away to reveal an old, wrought-iron elevator. Its gates were wide-open, and it was quite large. "Look, see?" Penny pointed.

"Oh, it's a perfect cage, Penny!" Miss Bianca praised as she looked at it.

Bernard got down into it and looked around. "It looks like it'll, it'll work out fine," he called back. He frowned. "But what do we use for bait?"

Penny batted her hand, wrinkling her nose. "Oh, they'll eat anything."

Figment, following the others down the stairs, snapped his claws. "I've got it! Bianca," he pointed to her, "your perfume!"

"That's what I was thinking, Figment!" Miss Bianca said, reaching Bernard. "They'll follow the scent _right_ into the elevator!"

"And I'll slam the door!" Penny added. "Won't that make Medusa mad!" She began imitating Medusa, using a broom instead of her cane. "'Brutus! Nero! Did you let that little brat escape again? You're too soft!'" She whacked the air. "Whap! Whap!"

Maru, down near the mice with the dragons, couldn't help but smile as the others laughed.

"Heh-heh, hey, that's not bad," Bernard complimented.

"~Though I'm kinda unnerved,~" admitted Elliott, who was chuckling despite himself.

Penny even imitated Medusa's funny little walking jig from before, then stopped and pointed with a scowl. "Track her _down_, boys! Bring her back!" she pointed downwards.

"And we'll be so far ahead, they'll never catch us," Miss Bianca added.

Maru frowned at this. "Wait...What about that thing she drives? That...swampmobile?" he asked.

Penny thought for a second, then smiled, "We'll _swipe_ it! I've always wanted to drive it!" She then proceeded to act like she was driving it, making sounds like such, hands up as if holding a steering wheel.

"W-What if Medusa w-wakes up, while we're starting it? W-We're in trouble," Bernard pointed out. "We-We gotta stall 'em somehow."

Penny smiled mischievously and leaned down. "What about Mr. Snoops' _fireworks?"_ she whispered, pointing. "We'll shoot 'em off in her bedroom! _That_ will keep her busy!"

"Oh, Bernard, it's so exciting!" Miss Bianca giggled, turning a little circle and shaking Bernard's arm lightly. _"Per_fume, _crocs, swamp_mobiles! It's just _got_ to work!"

"It's our only chance, but...we're gonna need help," Bernard said, starting to walk off.

_"SNOOPS! Snoops, get down here!"_

Everyone froze as they heard Medusa's strident commands. Mr. Snoops raced down some stairs, mumbling, "Wh-What seems to be the problem?" before racing inside. The door slammed, shutting out the light from within. Medusa started shouting at him while the group came to a railing nearby to look on.

Penny held onto the railing. "I bet they're up to something," she accused. She shrank back a little. "I don't wanna go down that...awful black _hole_ again..."

The rest of the group looked worriedly at her, then each other. "~Penny, get dressed,~" Elliott said gently.

"We haven't got much time," Miss Bianca added.

Bernard ran over to the side. "Evinrude?" he called, looking out. "O-Over here." Evinrude came buzzing up from below. "We need help," Bernard said. He pointed. "Go get Ellie Mae! And-And hurry!"

Evinrude balled his fists and nodded, resolute, before turning and zipping off through the night.

Maru went over to the side, watching, as Bernard left to rejoin Miss Bianca. Evinrude flew along as fast as he could. He looked like he would make it...until the bats arrived. "Oh, no..." Maru muttered, slowly facepalming. Evinrude eventually escaped by squeezing through the bottle in Buried Bottle. The bats tried to get to him, but the glass kept them at bay. Maru crossed his arms, turning. "Shoot..." 'And here I am too weak to handle them. There are just too many of them, and even with all of us...damn.'

From the shadows, a strange figure watched these events before backing up into the darkness, vanishing.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Back in the pilot-house, Figment was sitting and bouncing his leg, a (normal) hand in hand. Across from him sat Bernard, holding a hand, as well. Both were frowning. "Got any jacks?" Figment asked.

"Go fish."

Figment growled and threw his hand in frustration. "It's been _two hours!"_ he complained as the cards fluttered down. "When's that stupid bug gonna come back?"

"I told you, he had to hide from bats," said Maru, lying on the bed on his stomach. He grunted and winced as Elliott pushed against his back. "Umph! You sure you're _massaging_ me and not trying to _crush_ me?" he asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow.

"~It's not _my_ fault your back has more knots than a Boy Scout camp,~" Elliott scoffed, raising an eyeridge back. Beside him, Iso watched them, seeming strangely entranced by the massage.

'Actually, it partly _is..._'

"You think he's come out of hiding yet?" Miss Bianca asked, sitting on the other side of the bed by Penny (who was still in her nightgown).

Maru motioned for Elliott to get off him, nodding to him in thanks. He paused and raised an eyebrow at Iso's look before returning him. "Hang on..." He went out to the stern, climbed a railing, and pulled out a small pair of binoculars. "Good thing I found these on the Gummi Ship...Knew they'd be handy," he muttered as he peered through them. He saw Evinrude still inside the bottle, a few bats batting at the glass now and then. He shook fearfully. Maru sighed and lowered the binoculars. "No dice," he reported.

Bernard put a finger to his chin, frowning. "Drat...At this point, we'll-we'll have to wait 'til morning," he said. He looked around at everyone. "We'd better, well, stick together."

"Don't worry, Penny," assured Miss Bianca as the girl's face fell. She smiled. "Everything will be fine."

"Okay," Penny mumbled. She yawned.

"Well, we're all a bit tired, anyway," Bernard chuckled, noticing this.

"We're not," Figment shrugged.

"Well, I've been wanting to take a look at that swampmobile, anyway," Maru said, walking back in.

"Me and Bernard will stay here with Penny," Miss Bianca decided. "Come back up when you're ready."

Maru, now joined by the dragons, nodded. "We'll be back soon." They turned and trotted out the door.

Out on the stern, which is what the map labeled the area as, they could go out onto the broad back balcony, but it didn't do much. They could, however, go down through pathways on either side of the boat after going down the stairs to the elevator, then down another set of stairs on either side on that middle deck. They could also battle Heartless that appeared up on the balcony. Maru got out Iso and set to work.

They could see the outsides of the ship through the railing, so they saw which side the swampmobile was on. So, they went down to the first level again, going down along the starboard deck. There, they found more Heartless, and the party fought their way to the strange watercraft.

Maru came back after searching under the hood, walking onto the dash. "I don't see any reason it shouldn't work below," he reported. "I fixed a few loose wires, and we might want to refuel it, but that shouldn't be too difficult."

"Well, I think I found something that might," Figment pointed.

The party turned and started. **_"!"_**

The steering wheel was gone!

Maru crouched to look at it. "What the...? Why didn't I notice this before?" he muttered. He stood again and looked at them. "It should be an easy fix if it's still in one piece, though. Let's start searching at the stern."

They made their way back to the stern. They got rid of any Heartless they had missed before since they explored more of the area. After all the Heartless were defeated, they searched the area fairly thoroughly. "Nothing," Figment sighed.

"~Maybe the, uh...~" Elliott began, looking for the word.

"Port?" Maru supplied. Elliott nodded. "The port deck sounds like a good place. Let's hope it's not by the gangplank..."

When they reached the port deck, they found only a few Heartless on the way, as well as...

"The wheel!" Maru pointed. The steering wheel lay on the deck, totally intact. The party ran over to it. "Elliott, think you can lift—" Maru began before the hair on the back of his neck stood on-end. He put a hand to it. "Uh-oh..."

A swarm of Heartless appeared around the steering wheel. Maru summoned Wandereason and got into stance. Figment groaned. "Looks like we've gotta take the wheel by force," he observed.

The battle was fierce, and Maru had to use a couple items. (He was thankful that, when they had appeared in the world at first, for some reason, a holographic moogle appeared by the save disc. Talking to it revealed it to be a shop. He had bought a few items there before heading off into the bayou.) He ended up calling Iso out of Hyper Mode a couple more times, too; he had done so another time beforehand, as well, in the battles on the other parts of the boat. However, with another time-slowing effect, Elliott dealt the last crushing blow to a Large Body.

**)))Maru BONUS GET! HP Up)))**

**)))Figment BONUS GET! HP Up)))**

**)))Elliott BONUS GET! HP Up)))**

Penny sat on the bed, looking out the window to the sky above. A star shone down at her, and she smiled. The mice were sitting by her.

Suddenly, she turned and gasped, a horrified look on her face.

On the wall hung a little drawing of two stick figures labeled "MOM" and "DAD".

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Back at the starboard deck, Maru and Elliott were placing the steering wheel back in its spot. With a _clunk,_ the mechanism locked back into place. The two stood on the dashboard with Figment, mopping their brows. "Phew! There, now we can escape tomorrow," Maru said.

"~And Medusa won't think Penny did something and hurt her,~" Elliott added.

Figment turned as he saw the lights on the boat go out. "Hey, looks like the bad guys are goin' to bed," he noticed.

The others turned. Maru nodded. "Yeah...We might want to turn in, too. We should rest up for the ordeal tomorrow morning, and it's getting late."

"Even though it's afternoon for us..." Navi muttered from his collar.

The party returned to the pilot-house with no additional conflicts. "~We're back!~" chirped Elliott as the party ran in through the door. Maru, first, then Figment, then Elliott stopped after entering, however, all looking in alarm. Nobody was inside the room except them. Elliott's face changed the most, having been smiling cheerfully. He glanced left and right. "~Penny? Penny?~"

"Penny?" Figment called.

_"Penny!"_ Maru shouted, cupping his mouth. Suddenly, he stopped, hearing a tapping. "Wait..." He ran over to where the telegraph was. It was moving. He held a hand back to silence the dragons before both started calling, shushing and closing his eyes.

It took a long, painful few moments, but soon, the message finished. Maru opened his eyes, scowling.

"What did it say?" Figment asked. "I'm rusty on my Morse code..."

Elliott stepped over and in front of him, almost frantic. **_"~Where's the child?~"_** he demanded.

Maru sighed. "'Meet me at the stern,'" he relayed. He growled, clenching his fists tightly. "Dammit! I should've known...That steering wheel was a distraction!"

"Well, it _did_ seem kinda fishy..." Figment raised an eyeridge.

"~What are we _waiting_ for? We _need_ to _go!~"_ Elliott urged, trotting to the door again.

"Wait, Elliott—we should make sure we're ready, first," Maru stopped him, holding his hand out.

"This guy's got the cards we need...and we've got whatever one he's asking for," Figment nodded. "It won't do to go in blindly. That's what he wants."

"Surprisingly correct," Maru said, looking at Figment. "You _can_ be mature."

Figment crossed his arms, frowning. "Well, of _course_ I can!" he retorted. "I just usually don't 'cuz it's less fun."

Maru sighed and shook his head.

The party split up again, being near a save disc like they were. Maru spoke to everyone again to see how they felt. "Why would someone want Penny? It can't be Medusa—she's already got her..." Figment muttered.

"~Hurry up and get ready! They might get impatient and do something to her—!~" Elliott worried.

Maru checked in with Navi by the save disc. "I think we're getting pretty close to finding the Keyhole. Be ready for anything!" "I sense a big fight coming. You'd better prepare yourself." "Looks like Iso's 89% purified. Keep at it—his heart is almost open! Remember, calling him from Hyper Mode and battling with him are best."

'I can tell he's close to finally opening his heart,' Maru thought, 'but he still hasn't shown much emotion...' He looked at Iso in interest.

Blank.

"I hope Penny's alright..." was all Navi had to say for herself. Maru nodded and used the save disc before going out the door. Seeing this, his comrades came over to him.

Maru ran out and looked around. "Where are you!" he shouted, glaring at nothing and summoning Wandereason.

**"~WHERE'S PENNY?~"** roared Elliott, already in his armor and looking ready to kill.

"Patience, little man," a smooth, jeering male voice admonished. The party turned to the stairs down to the elevator and saw him walking out of one of the stairs to below. He was another figure in a strange mantle and tentacruel mask. He had black gloves and wore thick, long, loose black cloak sleeves, though, unlike the one from Nightsky City, these had some color: A few sparse dark teal circuit-like lines. They saw this because he was currently holding onto an upset Penny, who was holding Teddy in one hand. They saw the mice holding onto the hems of her dress. He walked up the stairs to meet them.

"Let me _go!"_ Penny fought, struggling.

"No." The figure walked to the balcony, going past Maru and the dragons. "So...Maru, is it?" He appeared to speak with more emotion than the figure from before, as well...this emotion being malice. "A young man with a Keyblade. How troublesome."

Maru glared at him, eyes glowing very slightly. "You are with the man that took my powers," he said darkly. "What are you? _Who_ are you?"

The figure stopped at the end of the stern and chuckled. "True, I am with him," he admitted. "But I won't tell you who I am."

"Why not?" asked Figment, drawing a hand.

"Because I am simply..." The figure turned around and gazed at them with that dark mask. "...Indecipherable."

"Indecipherable...?" Maru repeated, muttering.

"You're so small, yet you think you can fight me?" the figure scoffed. "Hah! How droll. Regardless, make one move..." Maru stopped, having reached behind his back for Iso's ball. "...and her life is forfeit."

Maru grimaced, bringing his empty hand out again. "You cowardly..."

"You're calling _me_ a coward? _You_ think that you can make your way through anything with a bit of _faith,_ huh?" He sounded like he was sneering. "You act so mature, yet you refuse to accept reality...how childish and cowardly. You belong with this girl."

Maru growled, clenching his Keyblade tightly. _"You...!"_

"Yeah! It's true!" Penny interjected. "Faith will make things right!"

The figure looked down at her. "Penny. Do you _really_ believe that," he asked gently. "You've been orphaned for your whole life. Nobody's given you a second glance." Penny stopped fighting and looked up at him with eyes that grew wider and wider. "All the kids around you get taken by new parents, but you get left alone. And now when you get taken by someone, it's a kidnapping. You're forced to go down into a deep, scary hole to find a treasure for 'Auntie Medusa', and she yells at you when you bring up priceless gems."

_"~STOP IT!~"_ roared Elliott, stamping a foot. Smoke was starting to come from his mouth, face contorted in a rage that frightened Figment and alarmed Maru. _"~Penny! Don't listen to him!~"_

"Oh, but you know it's true, don't you," the figure chuckled.

Penny closed her eyes and looked down solemnly. "...Yeah..." she said quietly. "It's true..." Her grip on Teddy was loosening.

The figure gazed down at her, her reflection visible in his mask, and hissed, "_Nobody likes you."_

_**"~SHUT UP‼~"**_ erupted Elliott, a few flames darting from his mouth. He started to charge, but Maru and Figment grabbed and held him back.

"Elliott! Don't! He'll hurt Penny if we try to stop him!" Maru reasoned, grunting against the large dragon's strength. "We can't do anything!" He glared at the figure. "You brought us out here for something. What is it?"

The figure laughed. "Nothing," he said. "I just wanted you to see how futile your little 'quest' is." He used one hand to reach behind him and pull out...a pokéball. "Come, Exexitt," he commanded, lobbing it. Maru noticed the ball was entirely clear, although you couldn't see what was inside it. It opened with no flash of light, but the pokémon or whatever inside materialized nonetheless.

What appeared before them was a short, strange, plant-like creature. It was colored white and silver. It appeared to bear three, knobby, odd legs. A few antennae-like things stuck out from it, each ending in what appeared to be a leaf. Two of these "leaves" were red, and one on either side of these had a symbol akin to a heart and a cross on it. And, of course, it was normal-sized—meaning it was bigger than the party. Maru gasped at it. "What _is_ that? A Nobody?" he asked.

"Somewhat," the figure answered. Penny was looking at it in horror, trying to get away from it. He pointed. "Now! Exexitt! Take this little girl's pain-ridden heart and unleash the darkness within!" (He pronounced this strange word "_ex_-egg-ZEET")

Maru widened his eyes. "You son of a—!" he gaped. He let go of Elliott (who began barreling towards them) and began charging with him. "He was gonna hurt her anyway!"

The exexitt turned to the humans and extended a pair of white vines.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Miss Bianca muttered, scowling up at the figure. She and Bernard scampered as fast as they could up the dress. The vines kept getting closer to Penny, the tips beginning to glow.

_"HELP!"_ Penny screamed.

"You're too late, Maru," the figure gloated, looking at the approaching party.

"But _we_ aren't!" Bernard objected as he and Miss Bianca reached the hand still holding onto Penny. Together, they opened their mouths, showing their long teeth, and champed down onto his fingers.

The figure cringed and howled in pain, dancing back and letting Penny go, shaking his arm. The mice flew off and Penny instantly ducked the vines that had shot where her chest had been a second before. She ran as fast as she could to the other side of the balcony, putting her back against the pilot-house. The mice soon came over to her.

Elliott saw this, wide-eyed and motionless, and bugled victoriously. _"~Well-done_, Bernard and Miss Bianca!~" he cheered, pumping an arm.

Maru breathed a sigh of relief. "That was _close..."_ He looked at the creature and narrowed his eyes, grabbing his Monster Ball. "C'mon, Iso, let's go!"

Iso appeared as usual. However, as soon as he saw the enemy before him (who had turned to face the new threat), he began to snarl and growl deeply, getting into his battle position.

_"You...!"_ They turned to see the figure stomping back over to them. "I'll _exterminate_ you vermin for that!" He stopped as he saw Iso and crossed his arms. "So...we're going to settle this the old-fashioned way, huh?" he asked. He noticed the ball in Maru's hand. "What an interesting Light Ball..."

_"Light_ Ball?" Maru repeated, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the Monster Ball.

The figure pointed. "Very well, then. I challenge you to a battle, Maru! Whoever's pokémon falls first must fight, himself!"

Maru tossed his Keyblade up, dismissing it. 'A Slasher-style battle...' "Sounds good to me!" he accepted. He looked at Elliott. "Elliott, I know you wanna cream this scumbag, but this is a formal battle. To interrupt it and target the Trainer him- or herself is contemptable."

Elliott looked at Penny. _"~No one_ should say things like that and get away with it.~" He turned back and lowered his face to Maru's, eyes narrowed. "~Kick his ass, Maru,~" he growled quietly, nodding and dismissing his armor.

Maru raised his eyebrows at the swear. "Figment, I can't repeat that with children around," he said without even seeing the purple dragon open his mouth. The Trainer looked back at the figure. "Who goes first?"

"You," the figure gestured.

Maru nodded and took a deep breath. Then, he pointed, commanding, "Iso! Start off with Dragon Claw!"

Rage blistering his visage, Iso roared with a bit more vehemence this time and began to charge, reeling back his arm.

"Dodge and use Magical Leaf," countered the figure calmly.

Exexitt leapt out of the way, pumping its three legs and flying up. It made no sound. As it seemed to hover, it whipped its head at Iso and sent huge multicolored leaves at him. "Brace yourself!" Maru called, but Iso could barely look up in time before the guaranteed-hit attack struck. His Heartless-Pokémon was propelled back quite a ways before skidding. 'I'm going to have to get creative...That thing is bigger than Iso, so its stats are enhanced...' thought Maru furiously.

"Exexitt," the figure pointed, the odd pokémon landing, "Take Down." It rushed off.

Maru raised his eyebrows. 'That's it!' He pointed. "Iso, Low Kick!"

"Then jump and use Vine Whip instead!"

Exexitt dodged Iso's kick and sprang up, soaring high. Suddenly, Maru felt something within himself as he looked at Iso. Iso's eyes flashed at the same time as the feeling. 'A chance...?' Maru pointed. "Grab!"

As far ahead as Exexitt was, Iso's long arms were, indeed, _long._ Iso grabbed it with all the strength that his silvery forearms and black paws could give, a look of burning hatred in his eyes, and dug his talons and tail into the deck, fighting against the giant plant's momentum. With a roar, he held on and made it slam to the floor, causing a great deal of damage from its size. The figure started. "What...? Get up, Vine Whip!"

Maru smirked. "Looks like Low Kick worked," he mused. He pointed. "Quick, Fly!"

Iso sprang up, spreading his wings, pulling a loop. However, suddenly, halfway into it, his paws _exploded._ Iso yelped in pain, paws smoking, but kept on his path...with glowing eyes as he entered Hyper Mode. He dodged the vines that Exexitt was sending as it got up.

"What the—?" Maru started, his turn to be shocked. 'And dammit, Hyper Mode again!'

"Thorn Spore," the figure stated with a chuckle. "An Ability that damages any pokémon that grab Exexitt." He pointed. "Hurry and whip it, Exexitt!"

"Every rosebush has its thorns, I guess..." muttered Figment.

"Iso!" Maru watched as Exexitt flailed its vines around. Iso tried dodging, but eventually he got struck down and away, flying off. He righted himself and growled. Maru tried again, _"Iso! Snap out of it!"_ Iso merely roared and tried an aerial Shadow Rush.

The figure thrust out his hand. "Time to end this!" he declared. He slowly dropped his hand, bowing his masked head. In a quiet voice, he ordered, "Sinister Sundown."

Immediately, Exexitt disappeared. The Heartless-Pokémon bowled past, then air-braked to a halt as he realized he missed. He looked wildly around, then roared in agony as, suddenly, a rain of silver-white energy bullets hailed from the air around him. One big bullet struck him from behind, sending the poor guy flying away. He landed with a skidding halt in front of Maru. Behind him, Exexitt landed neatly in front of the figure, who chuckled. "That's an attack unique to Nobody Pokémon," he explained with a dark tone. "It's super-effective on Heartless."

Instead of listening, however, Maru was running to Iso. _"Iso!_ Are you alright?" he asked, putting a hand on his arm. Iso's face was screwed up in pain, and he was breathing hard. Maru felt his heart beating faint in his proud chest and looked very worried—both for the only other pokémon around and for the battle, though mostly for the former. "C'mon! Are you just going to let that thing _do_ that to you?" he coaxed, resting his hand on Iso's chest. "You can't let a _Nobody_ defeat you! That's worse than anything, since you'd be defeated by absolutely _nothing!"_

Still, his eyes remained shut.

The figure chuckled. "I think it's unable to battle," he said, taking a step.

At those words, something clicked. Iso's eyes shot open, and his red aura wavered. Maru grinned. "Iso! Let's _go!"_ he cried, and the aura snapped—leaving a black aura so faint, it was almost non-existent. 'His aura...!'

'His Heart Gauge is completely empty!' Navi gasped from Maru's collar.

Slowly, Maru stepping back,Iso got up to his feet. Looked up at the around 4' Nobody-Pokémon. And, instead of roaring, merely whispered one thing:

_"Terrone."_

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

Cliffhanger, mwah-hah-haaaah! ...Well, alright, not like you don't know what's coming if you read the original story. Sorry for recycling the battle against Cardixa, especially given the huge difference in size this time, but I don't have much time. Most of my comments will be on the other chapter. But I'll just say one thing here: The battle against Brutus and Nero was probably one of the hardest parts of this entire episode. Oh, yeah, I should probably explain how I'm dividing things up:

- Chapters are chapters, like this is chapter 10. Each chapter's title is marked with one or more letters depending on who's focused on in it, then the number of the Piece(s). It can contain any number of focus switches.

- Pieces are basically the "real" chapters. Each Piece usually covers a full episode for a party (the parties being Ash, Maru, or one of the cheer squads), but if, say, all three parties don't end up doing much that day, the whole shebang ends up being one Piece—Chapter 8 comes to mind. Sometimes, two important things happen in the same Piece to different parties, but only if the Piece doesn't stretch across too many chapters. This is why Ash's first episode is combined with the EBA episode soon after. (Read: I haven't thought this out entirely.) It's also why I'm keeping Ash's episode in the same Piece as Maru's today—it's very short compared to Maru's chapter.

- Episodes are pretty much the events of a full world visit (as in the games) or a mission for the cheer squads. They can take anywhere from one to six (though I hope not, this time) chapters in length, going across multiple days. Most of Maru's and, when he gets going, Ash's episodes will take multiple chapters, but if I can help it, the cheer squads' episodes won't take more than one each. That said, I may or may not add them to the same Piece as the directly previous episode. (i.e., I may or may not have them share Piece 5 after we wrap up Maru's chapter next; I probably won't.) Episodes sometimes intersect, such as the first cheer squad episode and Maru's Nightsky City episode.

- Days are, well, days. I've now added days to the previous chapters. I only mark the start of a new day once, regardless of how many times I switch parties. These act as reminders for what day it is since Maru's quest to restore his powers began. The events described in this fic all happen simultaneously on the same day, and it can be hard to keep track of who does what when, sometimes. At least for me. And if the author's confused, then he's doing it wrong—I mean he's fail—I MEAN you'll probably get confused. A day can span multiple Pieces, though sometimes one Piece is a full day, such as Chapter 8. When a day changes, I may or may not give you a cliffhanger by interrupting one character's episode to go to another's.

Anyway, all that said, whatcha think of my doing the random-party-member-conversation-at-save-disc thing? It's fluff, but I find it amusing. And I'm mostly writing this for fun (heck, aren't all fanfictions just for fun?), so yeah.

**8D OMAKE 8D**

***FerreTrip is writing the next chapter.***

**FT:** *writing* . . .naive|

**FT:** *writing* . . .naïve |

**FT:** *thinking* Good, it's an auto-correct wor—

***OpenOffice red-squiggly-underlines it***

**FT: **..._lolwut_


	11. M05: Black Hole Daughter, Orphaned

Maru gasped, then smiled. "Terrone...So _that's_ what you are." (He pronounced this "tair-OWN".) His HP had been utterly depleted before, but now it had refilled to 10%. Iso was back in the game! He smirked and pointed. _"Iso the terrone!"_

_"Terr!"_

**_"Fly!"_**

**_"Rone!"_** Iso ran forward, spreading his wings, and jumped with a downbeat, starting at top speed towards Exexitt.

"Second wind? Exexitt, Sinister Sundown!" the figure ordered.

Exexitt disappeared long before Iso reached it. But Maru had a plan this time. _"Behind you! Loop up!"_

Iso leaned back sharply and twisted, starting to loop. He looked and saw Exexitt appear immediately in midair directly behind where he'd been. He growled as he continued his flight path, going quickly and winding up a punch. "Terrrrr..."

Exexitt sweatdropped, the figure grunted in dismay, and Maru smirked.

_"...RRROOONNNE!" POW!_ The giant plant was nailed with a furious terrone's punching Fly attack. It sailed straight for the floor, where it crashed. Its eyes had gone silver.

And it disappeared.

Maru stumbled back, eyes wide in horror. "What the—! Did I just...?"

The figure looked away. "Tsk...I thought we had you. Oh, well." He started running towards the small terrone. "I'll just have to squash you like the vermin you are!"

Maru caught himself and ordered, "Iso, dodge!"

"Terr!" Iso winged back from a giant kick aimed his way. The figure wore black pants and round-toed boots.

Maru thought for a moment. 'I don't want Iso to get hurt any more...He should gain the experience from him, too...' He held up his ball. "Iso, return! He's a bit too big for you right now!" he called.

Iso looked over his shoulder just as the beam hit him.

"What, not going to take advantage of having a powerful ally to fight the Trainer?" the figure asked, stopping and crossing his arms.

"Let's just say that the battle's over and this is _our_ fight, now," Maru returned, summoning the Keyblade.

"~About _time!~"_ Elliott growled, punching his palm as his armor reappeared.

"Let's _do_ this!" Figment smirked, drawing a hand.

"Hm." The figure jumped back as Maru and the dragons came forth. The party soon found that the battle wasn't that easy. Even though Maru saw that the figure had half the HP his pokémon had, he was still bigger and tougher to hit. The figure did an awful lot of running around during the fight, too. As well, they couldn't damage his legs; the mantle got in the way, and whenever he or they got close, he launched strong punting kicks at them, sending them flying. He grunted in pain whenever Figment landed a few hits on his chest, however.

'His chest! We have to get to his chest!' Maru realized.

Penny, who had been keeping far back up to this point, frowned and nodded resolutely as she saw the effective hits. "That's no fair, you bully!" she cried. She beckoned to Maru. _"Over here!"_

"Huh?" Maru trotted over. Elliott came with him. Penny danced away when the figure got close, but Maru and Elliott eventually reached her. When he neared her, Maru felt a chance in the Keyblade. He nodded. "Penny!" he called when he got close.

Instantly, Penny reached down and grabbed Maru and Elliott. "Take _this,_ you meanie!" she bellowed before hurling her handful towards the figure, aiming right at his chest.

The figure grunted in surprise at the speed of the living missiles and couldn't raise his arms in time. Elliott slammed into his chest in a flipping tail-smack with a mighty roar of wrath while Maru nailed him with his three-hit air combo and a full-hitting Swift. They landed harmlessly and dodged the kicks the figure gave before he ran away.

It took only one more lob from Penny (who always fled from the figure before he could get her) and some more attacks by Figment before the fight was over. As Maru landed a final Swift, time seemed to slow again as the figure grunted, "Ungh! You...annoying pests...!"

**)))Maru BONUS GET! Defense Up)))**

**)))Figment BONUS GET! Defense Up)))**

**)))Elliott BONUS GET! Defense Up)))**

**)))BONUS GET! Revive x3)))**

The figure stumbled back against the railing, holding his chest. Below, the party stood in battle stance. "Who are you, and what happened to Exexitt?" demanded Maru.

"Like I'm telling you," growled the figure. "I apologize, but I must take my leave. I'll be back, I assure you...There is far more to this swamp than meets the eye..." He produced a little teardrop-shaped remote control. He pressed a button on the rounded end of it. Behind him, a dark portal opened up with a cloud of thorns. "You're quite the battler, Maru," he added, stepping back.

"Get back here!" Maru cried, running after him, reaching a hand out. The portal closed, however, with the figure in it. Maru stopped and lowered his hand, sighing and dismissing his Keyblade. "Coward..."

"Is he gone?" asked Penny, walking over tentatively. The mice rode on her shoulders, as they had during the fight.

"~Penny! Are you alright?~" a concerned Elliott asked, running over to her.

Penny crouched down to him and giggled. "I'm fine, thanks to you and Mr. Maru," she answered. "Thank you!"

Elliott sighed in relief, dismissing his armor. "All in a day's work, ma'am," Figment stretched, smiling slyly as he came over.

"I think we've all had a long night," Miss Bianca said, "and should get to bed. Penny especially."

"~I agree,~" Elliott nodded, crossing his arms.

Maru nodded, too, and the group departed.

Back in the pilot-house, Penny crawled into bed. "Good-night, Teddy, Figment, Elliott, Mr. Maru, Bernard, Miss Bianca," she yawned as she did so.

The mice crawled up onto the pillow, moving to an end. "Good...Good-Good-night, Penny," Bernard stuttered, yawning as well.

"Don't worry, we'll figure everything out tomorrow," assured Miss Bianca sleepily. The two mice settled down on the pillow.

"Hooo...Well, we should probably take a nap, too," Figment said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"~I'm all for that,~" Elliott groaned wearily, sauntering to the foot of the cot and flopping down onto the corner, back against the wall and tail out between his legs. He undid his belt tiredly to remove some pressure.

Maru sighed and looked outside at the night. 'We've got a big morning ahead of us...and it's already been a big day.' He used the save disc to restore his and Iso's health. Navi was there, but she said that they should keep from talking so that they don't wake up anyone. Maru looked around. The others had fallen asleep quite fast. Penny lay in bed sweetly, holding Teddy close. On the pillow beside her lay the mice, curled up cutely together. Figment was lying on top of Elliott's belly, and his bed was snoozing away with his fingers laced over his chest.

"You ready to take a nap, Maru?" whispered Navi.

Maru shook his head. "I've got one thing left to do," he breathed back.

Maru stepped out onto the stern once more, Navi following and returning to his collar. "Come out, Iso," he said, opening the ball.

"Terrone!" Iso called once out again. He stopped, looked around, then turned to Maru once more once he found no foes.

Maru smiled and gently stroked Iso's hair. "You were fantastic against Exexitt, Iso," he complimented.

"Rone! Ter-rone!" Iso replied, clenching his fists.

Maru faltered; that was exactly what he'd heard. Mere grunts. He noticed his aura was still there, just very low.

"It looks like it's going to take more than what we can do alone to unlock his heart," Navi said quietly. "I guess we can only get it down 99%, not 100..."

"That's alright, Navi," Maru nodded. He smiled up at Iso.

Blank.

"We'll find a way."

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

_Mewtwo was in a gray space. He floated alone, body small and shortened—young. He looked up to see two shapes. He couldn't make out details, but from the shape of them, he knew what they were._

_ Other mewtwos._

_ Excited, he reached out to them...only for his paws to pass through them. '...Holograms...?' he thought. He watched as they slowly fizzled out, leaving him alone once more. The world around him turned from grey to amber. He realized that he was floating in a glass tube._

_ 'That's right,' he thought. 'I...I was created...' He looked out, pressing a paw against the glass as he saw a pair of faceless scientists, one male and one female, looking at each other and moving as if laughing. Mewtwo dropped his face, paw slowly sliding down the glass. 'I...I never had any parents...to begin with...'_

_SLAM!_ _"Penny! Get up!"_

Maru started awake from the sound, gasping. He was napping by Figment and Elliott, using the latter's tail as a pillow. He looked over by the stairs. Medusa's voice was roaring from there. Penny was up, too, as were the mice.

"Get _up,_ you lazy brat, and get your clothes on!" Medusa continued. "We're going to the Black Hole. I want you down here in _five minutes_, or _else!"_ With that threat and another _SLAM!_ of the door, Medusa was gone.

Penny yawned. "Well, time to go," she grumbled. She stopped when she saw Maru. "Mr. Maru, you're crying," she noticed quietly.

"Eh?" Maru touched his cheeks and raised his eyebrows. Indeed, tears had been coming from his eyes without him noticing.

"What's wrong?" Penny asked, frowning gently.

Maru noticed the dragons looking at him in keen interest, too, and shook his head, wiping the tears away, glad they couldn't see. "N-Nothing...allergies," he lied, blushing a little.

"Really?" Figment asked, raising an eyeridge.

"Shouldn't we let Penny get dressed? She hasn't got much time," Maru avoided starchily, getting off the cot.

Figment looked at Elliott, who was rebuckling his belt, and shared a smirk. "Looks like the tough guy's got a soft spot, after all," he whispered. Elliott nodded, chuckling.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Out in the middle of nowhere stood a small rocky island with a single barren tree. The water lapped low around its perimeter. Standing on the island were Medusa, Mr. Snoops, and Penny. The adults were pushing Penny (fully-dressed) towards a hole just big enough for, of course, Penny to go down, but neither of the others. Above the hole hung a bucket, like at a well, with the rope slung over a tree. Mr. Snoops was holding the rope on a large rock behind the hole. Penny held Teddy close to her chest as she looked down the hole.

"Alright, now, dear, get _down_ there," coaxed Medusa, gritting her teeth and shoving Penny, making her spin and spread her legs across the hole, barely finding purchase as she leaned against a large rock. "We haven't got long before the tide rises."

"Teddy's afraid," Penny said, still eying the hole as she got back away from it. She turned to look down at her bear. From her chest dress pocket, Bernard and Miss Bianca popped their heads out. Suddenly, Teddy was whipped away from behind Penny. Maru, Figment, and Elliott were revealed to be holding onto her dress underneath the bear, but once uncovered, they looked up before dropping down and scurrying behind some cover.

Meanwhile, Penny was turning and reaching after, an offended expression on her face. _"Hey! _Give him _back!"_ she protested.

Medusa grinned, holding Teddy far away from the reaching little girl, and waggled her finger. "Ah-ah-_ahhh_, Penny," she teased. "You can have Teddy back _after_ you get me that _diamond."_

Penny grumped. "Just like how you'll take me back to the orphanage, so I can get adopted, right?" she asked sarcastically, crossing her arms.

Medusa raised an eyebrow amusedly. "A_dopt_ed? What makes you think _any_one would want a homely little girl like _you?"_ she asked almost incredulously.

At this, Penny widened her eyes and took a step back.

Looking from behind a rock, Maru was gaping in shock. "Did I just hear what I think I just heard?" he whispered.

Above him (the party was Scooby Stacking, Figment up to Elliott), Elliott was snarling, grinding his teeth. "~You bet you did,~" he growled.

Figment wrinkled his snout in disgust. "She's the _true_ Heartless around here," he spat.

Maru gave Medusa a true Mewtwo Glare. 'She _is_ just like Giovanni...cruel, uncaring, and abusive...! Penny's going back to that orphanage whether Medusa likes it or not!'

"Now, go on, get down there!" Medusa barked, shoving Penny again. "And don't come back until you get that diamond!"

She stumbled once, then turned with her hands planted on her hips to give a glare at Medusa before gulping and stepping into the bucket, grabbing the lantern inside first. She found Maru, Figment, and Elliott already inside the bucket, having snuck in when the adults weren't looking. (The bucket had been at foot level before.) Slowly, Penny was lowered down, holding tightly onto the rope with an uncertain look on her face.

They went down a sizable drop. As soon as they were underground, the mice poked their bodies further out to look around, and the party did, too. "This place is kinda creepy," Figment commented, looking down.

"It used to be a pirate's cave," Penny chirped.

"How did you know that?" Miss Bianca asked.

Penny pointed. "Him!"

They looked, and as the light from the lantern came over, they saw the skeleton of a fancily-dressed pirate lying in a corner. _"Oh!_ _Dear!"_ Miss Bianca exclaimed.

_"Cool!"_ Figment grinned, hopping out and gliding down to it to examine it with his paws behind his back.

Once they landed in the cramped cavern, Bernard got out and went to a pile of gems. "Well, we'd better—better start digging," he said industriously.

Penny giggled. "I've already looked over there," she said.

"Oh..."

"So where _haven't_ you looked?" Maru inquired.

Penny lowered her face as she looked one direction, pointing. _"There,"_ she said. They looked and saw a great hole. The floor rumbled as water splished out of it. "That's where the water comes in. It's scary, so I don't look over there."

Bernard frowned, crossing his arms as he came over by Maru. Maru shared the same expression. "Well, if I were a pirate..." the mouse mumbled.

"...that's where I'd hide the Devil's Eye," Maru finished.

"~Then, uh, let's go,~" Elliott said, gulping.

Maru looked at him with an eyebrow raise. "What, you're not scared of it, too, are you?" he asked, hand reaching to Iso's ball. Elliott shook his head, looking affronted, but Maru chuckled and lobbed the ball. Iso emerged and looked around, immediately tense. "Don't worry, Iso, we'll do this quick," Maru told him. He pointed. "Grab Bernard and Miss Bianca and fly them to the other side. We'll make our own way across around the edge."

"Rone," nodded Iso, going to the mice and grabbing one in each arm, then flying up with his strong wings. As they sailed over the hole, water splashed up again, making Bernard hug the grand arm tightly.

Meanwhile, Maru, Figment, and Elliott had to sidle across the thin edge, fluted by water erosion. The water came up, splashing high enough to almost wash out Figment, but Elliott (having the worst time getting across) was grabbing onto him with the handlike appendage on the tip of his tail. Maru was clinging tightly to the wall, thankful for its texture.

"Are you alright?" called Penny when she saw Figment's near-miss.

"F-F-Fine, Penny," Figment stuttered, holding his chest with wide eyes. "Elliott, yer a lifesaver..."

"Have you found my diamond yet?" Medusa called impatiently.

"I'm looking!" Penny called back.

"Well, hurry up!"

"Little something-I-can't-say-before-children," grumbled Maru, hopping off at the other side. He turned and produced his Keyblade, offering the end to Elliott, who gratefully grabbed it and used it to help himself and Figment along. Maru looked over. "Find anything yet?

The mice were plodding around in the dark, looking. Iso stood, green eyes glowing in the dark, staring at them. "It's too dark to see," Miss Bianca replied.

"Penny, could you—could you shine the lantern over here?" asked Bernard. Penny obliged. The effect was like a miniature sun suddenly bursting into existence from one wall of the cave. Everyone shielded their eyes, dazzled.

"Holy—?" Maru grunted, raising an arm while he squinted.

"Nah, Holy looks different," Figment shook his head, eyes squeezed completely shut.

When the initial glare faded, everyone looked and widened their eyes (even Iso) as they saw the source: A glittering gem the size of a large fist lay within a human skull. "Jackpot!" Figment pumped his arm.

The mice crawled in through the eye sockets to it. "The Devil's Eye!" Bernard exclaimed, looking at it.

"It _has_ to be it!" Miss Bianca said, paws on cheeks in amazement. "It's _beautiful."_

Bernard got between it and the back of the skull and started pushing. "C'mon, we gotta get it outta here before—" he began.

Suddenly, the water came in again. Penny screamed and danced back while a good inch came in, almost tripping up the party. "Iso, return!" Maru cried, pointing his ball at the terrone and retrieving him while he staggered back. He called over to Penny. "Penny! We need the light again!"

"Kay!" Penny offered it once more.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Maru's neck stood up, though wet. "Oh, no, not here, not now," he muttered. To his dismay, Heartless appeared in the cave. Thankfully, they were all on his side of the hole, so Penny was safe.

"Oh, yes, yes here, and of _course_ now," Figment grumbled, drawing a hand.

"Hurry! We haven't much time before the tide gets too high!" Miss Bianca called from the safety of the skull.

Maru nodded, the party getting to the center of the area. After a moment, they set to work. 'I bet we've got one minute before things get too hairy,' Maru guessed. He noticed a small chest in one corner, and his curiosity got the better of him when he chased a Soldier over by it. After beating it, he quickly tapped it, opening it, and out popped 500 Munny. He turned and gave a Quick Blitz to a Bloodsucker, passing his Keyblade to his left hand while he did the vertical spin and jump, slamming it down before releasing and catching with his right hand again in stance.

The battle was intense, but they cleared it with 13 seconds to spare. Maru decided to use his Break Technique during it. When he did, he stood with his fists to his sides, shouting, _"Rend!"_ However, as expected, the tide came in again, higher than ever, soon after the battle finished. The mice yelped as the skull was filled with water. The dragons were engulfed, as was Maru, who grunted and braced himself. While underwater and holding his breath, he suddenly had the craziest idea. He jammed Wandereason into the floor of the cave and held on.

It worked. His body trailed backwards (Navi flying out before holding onto his collar for dear life) while he gripped the grip of his weapon, staying in place while the water receded. He gasped for air when the tide dropped. "We need to get that thing out _now_ before we all _die,"_ he shouted, pointing to the skull.

"I second that," Figment said wearily, having held onto a large rock. Elliott had grabbed onto the wall, digging his claws in.

The mice, trying to move the Devil's Eye out the skull's eye, grunted. "It's too big!" Bernard reported.

_"Penny!_ Did you _find_ the Devil's Eye?" squawked Medusa's voice.

"It's stuck!" Penny replied, looking back to the mice in worry. She frowned and nodded, then, with a gulp, jumped over the hole with her lantern. The water suddenly came up again and caught her, making her shriek, but she managed to grab the other edge in time, lantern still alight.

Maru gasped his head up again, having repeated his Keyblade trick. "Penny! Over here, help us!" he called.

"Right!" Penny came over, setting the lantern down on a rock and kneeling to the skull.

"Get the mouth open, dear!" Miss Bianca instructed. Penny tried, pulling and pulling—Elliott even came to help lift it—but no dice.

"~Get something to pry it open like a clam!~" suggested the green dragon.

Penny looked around, then saw a cutlass by another skeleton. She raced to grab it, then came back. "Under the skull, Penny, hurry!" Bernard pointed before getting behind the diamond again. The cave was shaking violently. Penny fit the flat of the blade between the skull and a small rock to act as the fulcrum, then pulled with all her might. At last, the skull came up and open, and the diamond popped out.

_"Finally!"_ Maru cried, rushing over with the dragons. Penny scooped up the diamond and the mice, Maru and Elliott hopping up onto her dress and clutching tightly (Elliott grabbing Figment), and the girl started running out.

_"I GOT IT! I GOT IT!"_ she cried as she ran, carrying the diamond like a football, but then the tide hole erupted with water, pulling her down in a whirlpool, screaming. The mice and Maru were washed away (Elliott had crawled up to her shoulder in time). She reached out and caught them all, then held her breath, holding them aloft, as she went under.

'Am I going to drown...?' Maru wondered as he spiraled, looking down, Keyblade still in hand. Abruptly, a bright light flashed from the center of the vortex.

"What's that?" Bernard called, pointing.

The light formed a shape, and Maru felt a tug on his Keyblade. "Huh?" He looked at it, then the Keyblade. He gasped. "A Keyhole!" He nodded, then pointed it down the tide hole, bit down, with both hands. A beam of light shot out of the bit after a moment, firing towards the center of the Keyhole. The water came higher and higher up as they circled down, faster and faster. 'I'm not gonna make it—!'

They went under.

The water calmed.

And a deep _click_ reverberated throughout the Black Hole.

_BALOOOOSHA!_ The tide hole erupted once more, sending Penny and everyone else out the other side, coughing and spluttering. "We're alive!" squeaked Figment, thumping his chest.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Bernard urged. Penny didn't need to be told even once—she was already getting into the bucket, everyone else piling in as well. The mice crawled up the rope to hop into Penny's pocket again as she spoke.

_"I GOT IT! PULL ME UP!"_ Penny all but screeched. The water was coming in again, and fast. To everyone's intense relief, they began to be lifted up. Penny and the others looked down at the rapidly filling cave, realizing that they had just barely escaped with their lives.

As soon as Penny, holding up the diamond, had surfaced, Medusa snatched away the diamond, a twisted, giant grin on her face as she beheld it. _"At laaaast! The Devil's EYE!"_ she gasped, sounding euphoric as she turned away, holding it to the light. She cackled.

Still holding the rope, Mr. Snoops hopped down from the rock he had stood on, exclaiming, "It's worth _millions!" _As soon as he wasn't looking, Maru, Figment, and Elliott jumped out of the bucket and dashed behind some cover.

_"Look at it!_ Filled with a _power_ on its own!" she ravished insanely.

"Hey, lemme see it," Mr. Snoops grumped.

Medusa raised an eyebrow at him as she held it away greedily, then flashed it to him once.

"Thawha—hey, that wasn't a very good look," Mr. Snoops complained, letting go of the rope to walk over, reaching after it. Penny screamed as she dropped, barely able to catch herself around the hole before the bucket fell completely in. Medusa repelled Mr. Snoops' flailing form with a held foot. "I know there's enough there for us to cut it between the two of us!"

At this, Medusa scowled and kicked him down onto his back. "You _fool!_ Why would you _cut up_ a _perfect_ diamond?" she asked, turning away and adding, "And it's _mine, allll __**mi-hi-hine!"**_

Mr. Snoops frowned, sitting up. "Now, wa-wait a minute!" he protested, getting up. "Wait just a minute, you double-crossing crook!" The two commenced bickering, calling each other names.

Meanwhile, Brutus had grabbed Penny by the panties again. "Put me down, Brutus!" Penny fought, swinging her fists while the croc looked at her with amusement. Brutus and Nero then turned and went crawling down the side of the embankment, slipping once again into the water.

Maru, Figment, and Elliott peeked from their rocky cover, then nodded to each other. They ran down to the vessel the adults had took and hopped in after they had gotten in, hiding in the back.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

After getting back to the riverboat, Medusa went over to Mr. Snoops and Penny, who was being held by Brutus still. "Brutus?" Brutus dropped her, again unceremoniously. Medusa looked at the two of them. "Come with me. _Both_ of you," she ordered. Mr. Snoops raised an eyebrow, and Penny scowled, but after Medusa roared, _"NOW!"_ they begrudgingly followed her.

"We'll be back, Penny," Bernard whispered up to Penny from the pocket. The human nodded, then both of the mice hopped down. The small creatures waited until the coast was clear before meeting together on the stern.

Maru went past everyone while the others gathered around. "What do we do now?" asked Figment.

"We check to see if Evinrude's done his job," Maru answered over his shoulder. He climbed up the railing, then broke out his binoculars. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Evinrude, taking the chance now that no bats were harassing him in the daylight, shoot out of the bottle and zip down the chimney before some stalker bats tried to get him. "Good bug," Maru pumped his arm. He looked down to them. "He just got into their shack. We'll have backup soon!"

"Great!" nodded Bernard.

They heard voices coming from the pilot-house. "Why does she want us in here?" Penny's voice asked.

"Heck if I know," Mr. Snoops replied.

"They're going into the pilot-house?" muttered Maru, frowning. 'There goes our save disc...'

"We should get ready here," Miss Bianca advised.

Maru set up a save point on the stern and used it gratefully. He only asked Navi what she thought was coming next for the usual questions. "What's next? Well, the escape, of course! But something tells me we've got one more battle to go...Use the save point while you can." "That was some quick thinking down there, Maru," she complimented when asked her thoughts. "I thought we were gonna drown! Your cloak wasn't woven by Zoras, after all..."

"By what?" Maru tilted his head.

Navi shook left to right. "Nevermind..."

"Penny isn't here...I wonder what that woman's going to do to her," Miss Bianca worried.

"Don't—Don't worry, Maru, the plan's gonna work out fine," Bernard assured.

"~I'm used to the tide coming into a cave I'm in, but I was always too big to worry much...~" Elliott recollected.

"We almost drowned...That was FUN! Can we do it again, Maru? Huh? Can we? Huh?" Figment grinned, hopping up and down. Maru bopped him, and Figment laughed, holding his head.

Maru had taken to releasing Iso during these times, as well. "Terrone!" was all he said, giving him the same stare.

'How will I ever purify you...?' Maru wondered.

After talking with everyone, Maru said they should get going, and they went up to the pilot-house. Bernard had his grappling hook ready as they snuck up to the side of the door. "Welcher, swindler...chiseler...!" they heard Mr. Snoops shouting. He sounded as if his throat was rather dry. The mice peeked in. Maru, going with the plan they'd talked over the previous night in case this happened, beckoned to his comrades, and they ran off to get into position.

Standing up against the far wall were Penny and Mr. Snoops, and with her back to the door, Teddy in her left hand, and her rifle in her right, was Madame Medusa. _"Shut up, Snoops!"_ she hissed. "And _don't move._ If either of _you_ try to follow _me..."_ she began as her hostages glanced at each other briefly. She lunged her snarling face towards them. "...you get _blasted!"_

To the mice's slight surprise, the biggest thing on Penny's mind was, "You gimme my teddy bear! You promised!" She ambled forward bravely, meeting a repelling foot, herself.

Medusa brushed Teddy with her cheek. "Teddy goes with _me_, my dear," she said, smiling. Outside, Bernard lassoed a valve across from them before hooking the other end of the thin rope on a sticking-out nail and keeping a tight, taut grip. "I've become quite..._attached_ to him..." She laughed menacingly as she began to back up.

And squawked as she fell flat on her ass, tripping over the string. She fired off into the sky and threw Teddy up. He flew through the air and landed on his stomach...revealing a familiar glitter through a seam in his back. Medusa gasped in horror. _"My diamond!"_

Mr. Snoops, hearing this, lit up his face and went running out, arms outstretched. Medusa gave an irritated look as she grabbed his leg, tripping him. Penny, meanwhile, dashed out, picking up Teddy on the way as she fled.

Medusa and Mr. Snoops followed after, each grabbing and tripping the other in succession. Before Medusa could get up again, she screamed as Ellie Mae finally appeared, assaulting her with her rolling pin, as well as Figment, flying about and throwing cards at her. _"This_ your card? Sorry, _this_ you card? Sorry, _this_ your card?" he chirped as he flitted and tossed. Medusa screamed when Luke, taking a small pitchfork, stabbed her in the butt.

A bang was heard as the three soon scampered off from the madwoman, rounding a bend. They skidded to a halt when they met Brutus and Nero at the gangplank. The crocs smirked and followed them, snapping.

Being held by a hanging Iso (whose tail in turn was held by Elliott's tail, Elliott himself hanging by his arms), Miss Bianca spritzed her perfume a few times while Bernard whistled. Both crocs skidded and turned their heads with a unison, _"Hmmm?"_ They saw the mice hanging down in front of the elevator, waving and grinning. With the excitement of a pair of children that turned into malicious smiles, they barreled over.

"Now," Bernard said to Elliott. Elliott watched the crocs carefully and shook his head—too far still. Bernard bit his lip and repeated, _"Now!" Then_ Elliott started hoisting himself up, struggling at first. The mice looked at the gators getting closer and paled. _"NOW!"_ squealed Bernard. With the combined strength of an Iso wingbeat and Elliott's arms, they were yanked up, one of the crocs snapping air as both slammed into the elevator, squeezing in as the gates closed on them from the force. They sat and held them like prison bars, blinking in bewilderment.

Meanwhile, Penny was trying to get the swampmobile to work. "Oh, please start!" she begged. The mice trotted over quickly. It spluttered and coughed, but nothing.

"Advance the spark!" Bernard shouted from under the hood.

"Don't bother, I checked it last night!" Maru called back, standing on the dash. "I told you, it needs fuel!"

_"LOOK OUUUT!"_ Bernard cried suddenly. They looked up and ducked as a rifle shot broke the windshield. Maru got out his Keyblade. On the second level, Medusa was aiming, trying to shoot out Penny. Ellie Mae saw this from behind and above. She jumped down from the roof and bonked her on the head before jumping away again. When Medusa swung the rifle around to aim at her, however, it was caught with a grunt by Elliott, standing on the railing.

"What the—?" Medusa couldn't help but squawk in surprise at the dragon.

Elliott gave his scariest snarl, pure fury contorting his face. His mouth smoked again. **_"~No_**_body...~"_ he grunted with effort as he wrestled the pipe of iron in his arms. **_"~...shoots_**_ a _**_child...~"_ **His chubby arms bulged with the muscle beneath, and a creak was heard from the metal he held. **_"~...on __my __watch!~"_** Producing a frightful screech from the firearm, Elliott bent the end of the barrel up at a right angle.

Medusa gaped in horror at her ruined weapon before narrowing her eyes and aiming it at Elliott, pulling the trigger. Comically, the barrel exploded, banana peeling and making her stumble back and onto her rump, stupefied face covered in soot. Elliott turned around and slapped his butt at her with a triumphant smirk.

During all this, Figment was down in the boiler room, throwing Fire cards left and right at the mess of fireworks. Iso was there, too, holding him so he didn't get tired of flying. When Figment ran out, he looked up. "Okay, big guy, let's blow this joint!" he grinned.

"Rone!" Iso nodded, sounding a little uneasy as he sensed the danger about him. He soared up the stairs and out of the room as it began to erupt in color and sound. The fireworks could be seen from far away, shooting out of the entire river boat. There were all kinds and hues. Medusa ran around, trying to berate Mr. Snoops, but kept squawking as she avoided or was hit by fireworks. Mr. Snoops ducked one, himself.

Back down at the swampmobile, Maru watched the theatrics with a smirk. "Well, this is certainly more entertaining than either of _my_ escapes," he commented, arms crossed. He looked down and noticed the muskrats arriving. As he expected, Luke carried his booze. He snapped his fingers. "Ah-_hah!"_ He pointed. "Luke! Get up here! We need gas!"

Ellie Mae and Luke hopped onto the machine, and Ellie Mae pulled Luke to a hole by the gas tank. "C'mon, Luke, pour it in," she coaxed. Luke began pouring a little in. She frowned and pushed the jug further in, to his unhappy surprise. "All of it!"

A cloud of smoke erupted from the other end of the tank, by the dash. Maru sweatdropped, and Elliott, who saw this as he trotted over, gulped and bit his claws as he looked down at his stomach.

"GO GO GO!" Figment urged as he and Iso soared out, landing on the craft. Everyone held on as the swampmobile roared to life and Penny started it off. Medusa, however, came running out. With a murderous look, she dove and grabbed the trailing mooring rope.

She soon reached them and grabbed onto the end of the craft, starting to get aboard. Maru snarled and jumped over. She widened her eyes at the little man as he glared at her, eyes glowing ever so slightly. _"Get off, you cold hag,"_ he breathed darkly before giving a sound smack to her fingers with Wandereason. She howled and flew off, grabbing the very end of the rope before she splashed into the green waters of the bayou again.

"I'll—_glpbblb!_—**get** you! _THAT'S _**_MY_**_ DIAMOND!"_ she roared hysterically, eyes wild as she surfaced and dragged along.

Suddenly, Heartless appeared around the swampmobile. Maru grimaced and turned to look. "It's her!" he realized. "Her crazy, avaricious heart is attracting the Heartless! Iso!" he called, looking at the pokémon perched at the dashboard. "Fight them off yourself!"

"RONE!"

He looked back at Medusa, who seemed to be helped along—by Bloodsuckers? "They're helping their leader, great!" He looked around for a moment before the final battle in that world began.

Maru, Figment, and Elliott, with Iso helping, all separated, had to deal with Heartless coming in from all sides. Figment took the port side while Elliott took starboard, and Maru took the stern. They all had to compensate for turns. Whenever one of them fell out, Iso was there in a flash to fly them back in. It took some time, though, and they couldn't let Medusa get a good grip on the back of the swampmobile...and she moved quickly, helped by the Heartless as she was. As well, the entire craft's passengers had to be protected, and the fewer fighters there were, the more damage they took. Whenever he was about to fly off, though, Maru felt a chance to drive his Keyblade into the craft, surprisingly not damaging it. He had only a fraction of a second to catch it, though, so he had to watch out. He didn't have a handy edge to grab onto or huge wings to fly with. Whenever Medusa got close enough, Maru would smack at her fingers until she flew off again, fighting off the barrage of Bloodsuckers that came with. 'When will this end?' he wondered after a minute and a half.

Suddenly, the river boat exploded with a blast of fireworks, sending up Brutus and Nero. The elevator they were in disintegrated, leaving them hanging in the air at the apex. They grunted in fright, hugging each other as they came down again into the water. They splashed down and surfaced, dazed. They started when they saw the swampmobile rushing towards them and ducked again. They resurfaced and blinked at the watercraft, confused. They grunted as Medusa, going water-ski style as she had the whole battle, slammed into them, using them as skis better than her boots. Medusa snarled and whipped her boys with the end of her rope, much to their displeasure.

"Penny!" Miss Bianca called at the dash. "Look out! The riverboat!" They were heading straight for the half-and-counting-sunken boat.

Penny gasped, then made a tight right turn. Everyone held on, the remaining Heartless flying off, but Medusa's momentum left her going forward. The rope remained in her grip...and snapped from the opposing forces. She stood on the crocs, looking at the rope in her hands before looking and screaming as she flew towards the sunken gangplank, angled as a ramp. The three skidded up the ramp, and while the crocs kept going, Medusa slammed into one of the remaining smokestacks with a _booooong~!_

Using a door as a raft and oaring his way away, Mr. Snoops saw this and pointed and laughed.

The group saw this, too, and everyone cheered. "We did it!" Bernard whooped, dancing around the steering wheel with Miss Bianca.

"Oh, Bernard, you're the greatest!" Miss Bianca praised when she stopped and hugged Bernard tight. The male gray mouse blushed.

Maru sat on the end of the watercraft, smiling. "Well," Figment said, him and Elliott coming to sit beside him, grinning, "I'd say we were one heck of a pest problem, wouldn't you?"

Maru couldn't help but laugh evilly. "I daresay," he agreed. He looked up as Iso came down behind him and smiled at the Heartless-Pokémon. "And you were one of the most essential parts, Iso," he added. He stroked his hair gently. "Thank you so much."

"Rone!" Iso barked, eyes still blank.

Maru sighed, shaking his head at him. "You've done well. Take a break," he said, returning him.

Meanwhile, Medusa held onto the pipe, shaking her fist. _"My diiiiaaammooooond!"_ she wailed. She looked down and cringed, trying to climb up as Brutus and Nero snapped angrily at her from below.

**-)-D-0-O-0-C-(-**

Penny parked the swampmobile by Buried Bottle, and everyone disembarked. Evinrude flew over to greet them, buzzing happily. Miss Bianca smiled at him. "Thank you, Evinrude," she said. "We never could have done _any_ of this without you."

Evinrude just nodded, buzzing humbly.

_"Now_ what do we do?" asked Penny, crouching down to the smaller folk around her, holding Teddy.

"Well, we've...gotta, um, find a way to get you back," Bernard answered. He smiled at her. "Don't worry, we'll get you back to New York, Penny."

Penny smiled, nodding. "Okay," she said. "I'll just wait around here. I'll be fine, 'cuz I got Teddy and the swampmobile if I gotta go somewhere."

"And we'll be there with you," Miss Bianca added, placing a paw on her shoe gently.

Penny grinned, showing her gapped teeth, as she looked at everyone. "Thank you, everyone—Bernard, Miss Bianca, Ellie Mae, Luke, Evinrude...and you, Mr. Maru, Figment, Elliott!" she chirped, beaming at the last three.

Maru and the dragons smiled back, nodding. "Not a problem," Figment replied. "It was fun!"

Maru frowned, crossing his arms. "You..._sure_ you'll be fine?" he asked. "You're in a swamp with no shelter..."

"~Yeah, and where'll you get food? And Nero and Brutus are still out there...~" Elliott voiced, holding his tail.

Penny giggled, "You sillies!" She poked each on the nose gently, making Maru stumble back and Elliott give a laughing squeak. _"You_ two _forgot_ already." She hugged Teddy close and nodded matter-of-factly. "Faith makes things turn out right."

"So have faith in you?" Maru guessed, smirking.

"Mm-hm!" nodded the little girl. "I may not have any parents...but I've got friends," she pointed out, looking down at the animals, who smiled back at her.

"You can count on me, sweetheart," Ellie Mae assured, nodding.

"Yer in good hands!" Luke promised with his goofy, relaxed smile.

Maru chuckled a little at this, then looked at Penny thoughtfully. 'May not have any...' "Penny?"

Penny turned back to him. "Yes, Mr. Maru?"

Maru looked around at everyone. 'I...It would be rude to whisper to her in front of everyone...' He sighed before looking up gently. "You know how I was...crying...this morning?" he asked. Penny nodded. Maru clenched his fists, blushing a little as he looked away. "I...I was crying because...I dreamed about my parents."

Figment and Elliott looked at each other, raising eyeridges, before looking at him again.

Penny raised her eyebrows, then lowered her gaze. "Oh...I guess you miss them..." she murmured.

Maru looked down, too. "I reached out to them, but they vanished," he continued quietly. "That's when I remembered...I never _had_ any parents to begin with." 'At all,' he added, mouthing down. This caused Penny to look up again, blinking in surprise. Maru met her gaze, smiling faintly. "Neither of us have anyone to call 'Mom and Dad'," he noted softly. "We're both orphans."

Figment and Elliott looked at him in surprise, too. "Maru...!" whispered Figment. Elliott put a paw to his mouth.

Penny smiled a little, knitting her brow sympathetically. "Mr. Maru..." She looked away for a moment before reaching into her pocket. "Mr. Maru, I found this in the Black Hole one day and kept it secret," she said, producing what appeared to be a charm. It appeared to be a miniature version of the Devil's Eye, sharing the same cut and spectacular luster, on a fairly long chain, and at the top was a ring clasp, like on necklaces, but larger. She held it out to Maru. "I want you to have it."

Maru started at the sudden gift, looking at it. When he looked at her face, he stopped the thought of rejecting it out of politeness. She was smiling warmly at him. 'This is a gift from her heart,' Maru realized. He smiled slowly back, nodding, and took the trinket. It was a bit large for him, but he carried it anyway. He looked at it, then smiled up at her again, nodding. "Thank you very much, Penny."

Penny giggled and grinned. "We orphans gotta look after one another," she reasoned.

Maru chuckled a little and put the trinket away. Elliott came over, smiling apologetically. "~Penny? We gotta get going,~" he said reluctantly. "~Promise you'll be safe?~"

Penny smiled and, to Maru's surprise, reached down, picked them up, and gave the party a hug. "I promise, Elliott," she replied. "And Mr. Maru and Figment. Thank you so much for helping me." She put them down again gently. She turned to Teddy. "Now, say good-bye, Teddy," she reminded, raising an eyebrow. She turned the bear and made him wave a paw.

Maru smiled and waved back with the dragons. "Good-bye, Penny!" he called. He looked to the mice and waved at them. "And good-bye, Bernard, Miss Bianca!"

"You, too, Ellie Mae and Luke!" Figment added.

"Thank you for _everything_, you three!" Miss Bianca waved back.

"And th-thank you to, ah, Iso, too," Bernard added, waving as well.

"Y'all come back, now, ya hear?" Ellie Mae insisted sweetly.

"I'll have a new batch ready fer ya when ya do," promised Luke.

Elliott grinned uncertainly at that. "~Um...Thanks, but I'll pass,~" he replied, holding his paws up and shaking his head, stepping back.

This made everyone but Penny laugh. "What's wrong?" she asked, confused.

"We'll explain laytah," Ellie Mae answered hastily, bopping her husband on the head.

Penny giggled at that before looking at them. "Bye, everyone! Take care!" she bade, waving.

Maru, Figment, and Elliott smiled and waved back, saying good-bye once more before turning and walking up the path. Maru crossed his arms and looked up as he walked. 'I never thought of it before,' he mused. 'I _am_ an orphan. And...still just a naïve little child, sometimes...'

"That was really brave of you, Maru," Figment complimented on the way back to the save disc. "I never thought you'd admit to something like that out in the open."

"Well, I was mostly just telling Penny, but there was no point in hiding it since you all saw me this morning," Maru shrugged. "Besides, it's nothing huge."

"~It is to some people,~" Elliott reminded, holding a finger up and smirking.

Maru looked over his shoulder, watching Penny talk to the mice. "Yeah...it is."

*****OBTAINED Trinket*****

_A charm that resembles the Devil's Eye. Present from Penny._

**~The Lanes Between~**

Maru stretched his arms as he stepped into the bridge. Figment trotted past him, waving to Chip and Dale at the dash. "We're back, guys!" he smiled.

"Welcome back, guys!" Chip waved back. "And good evening!"

"~"Evening?"~" repeated Maru and Elliott, blinking stupidly. A second later, they jerked their heads before smacking a hand/paw on them. "Of course, it's night to us, but not there," Maru grumbled. "It's a bit disorienting."

"~A bit?~" Elliott raised an eyeridge.

"Looks like ya sealed the Keyhole, guys!" Dale exclaimed, pointing to the monitor. "Great job!"

"Thanks, I nearly drowned because of it," Maru returned wryly, walking to the monitor. Next to the world's title was a square with a keyhole in it. Suddenly, while he was looking at it, the screen flashed up with "INCOMING CALL" while emitting an electronic ring. _"Myu!"_ Maru squeaked, jumping back.

"Oh? Who could that be?" wondered Chip, leaning upside-down and pressing a paw on the screen. The ringing and flashing stopped, and an image of a frowning, older, yellow-haired man with goggles on his forehead and a toothpick in his mouth came up.

"Hey, anyone there?" he asked in a gruffish voice.

Maru stepped back over, blinking. 'A video phone. Handy.' "Yes, Maru," he answered. "Who's this?"

The man thumbed his nose and grinned. "The name's Cid, kid," he introduced. "I'm the head tech guy over in Radiant Garden. I helped out Sora and his pals last coupla times. If ya ever need ta install a Navi-G—short fer Navigational Gummi—come'n see me." He frowned again. "Merlin wants to see ya right away, says he thinks he found someone you might wanna meet," he continued.

Maru raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Who?"

Cid shrugged. "Heck if I know. Why don'cha c'mon down?"

Maru looked at the clock in the corner of the screen. It was only 9:18. He shrugged. "Sure."

"Great! Come by and see me sometime," Cid smiled again. "I'm usually hangin' out by Ansem's Study, if you can find where that is. That said, I'd better get goin'. Cid, over and out!" And with that, his image blipped out, leaving the map once more.

Maru sat down in the pilot's seat. "Well, guys, time to go to Radiant Garden again," he said. "Buckle up!"

**~Radiant Garden~**

Merlin turned as Maru, Figment, and Elliott arrived in his house. "Oh! Maru! That was quick," Merlin greeted, smiling. He sniffed and wrinkled his nose. "Mmm...you smell a bit, ah...damp..."

"We spent the whole day in a swamp, that's why," Maru explained flatly. "Of course we're damp." He tilted his head. "So, who's this person you want me to meet?"

Merlin nodded. "It's someone from _your_ world, Maru," he answered.

Maru's heart fluttered and he widened his eyes. He looked intently at the wizened wizard. "Was it a boy with messy black hair and a baseball cap?" he asked.

Merlin shook his head. "I'm sorry, but it's not your friend," he apologized, and Maru sighed, drooping his body. "It's an old woman by the name of Harmony. She's living in a small house nearby for the time being."

Maru looked up and nodded. "Could you show me to her?" he asked.

Merlin told him the location, and Maru left. The dragons started after, but Merlin held a hand, saying, "Wait, my friends—this is Maru's time. Let him be for now." Maru trotted over to where she was, noticing how different and strangely beautiful the town looked at night. It was a little house at the end of the road Merlin was on. The lights were on. Maru stopped and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" inquired an old woman's voice.

"Is this where Harmony lives?" Maru asked.

The door opened. He saw an old woman with a pair of glasses, a blue dress, and white hair tied up in a tight bun inside. She wore a necklace with a garnet on it, a golden bracelet on each thin wrist, and one of those old-lady "fashion" earrings in each ear, these being big blue square ceramic things with faux-gold trims. She was one of those anime characters that didn't open their eyes (like Brock). Slightly shorter than Maru, she smiled up at him. "Yes—Oh, my, aren't you a handsome young man," she complimented. "Who are you?"

Maru blushed, but nodded. "I'm Maru. We're from the same world. Merlin told me about you."

"Oh, I see," nodded Harmony. She backed up, beckoning. "Come on in, please!"

Maru nodded and stepped inside. He noticed she was in socks, that her shoes were by the door, so he took his off after closing the door. The inside of the house was little more than a single large room—it was more like an apartment than anything. It had the basics, however, and a door that Maru assumed led to the bathroom. She sat at a table and brought up a cup of tea. "Living in Agate Village back in the Orre region, I don't see many young people," the old woman mused. "Are you a Trainer?"

Maru planed a hand. "In a way, yes," he answered. "It's...complicated. I'm on a journey to restore our world, and I do have a pokémon to assist me."

Harmony smiled. "May I see your pokémon?" she asked.

Maru faltered, looking at the ball on his belt. "...Well, alright, but...he's probably unlike anything you've ever seen..." He let out Iso.

"Terrone!" Iso called when he was let out. Harmony gasped at him, and Iso looked at her with that gaze, tilting his head. "Terr?"

"Oh, my—!" Harmony put a hand to her mouth.

Maru sweatdropped. "I'm sorry," he apologized. Iso turned to him. "I know he looks frightening, but he won't hurt you."

Harmony giggled. "I actually don't mind his appearance," she assured him. "In fact, I think he looks remarkable. Especially those beautiful green eyes." She smiled. "They are so full of life...Where did you find—" She stopped, mouth open a little. A second later, she said quietly, "Oh, my..."

Iso was still standing there, blank expression, looking at Maru. He glanced at Harmony, then at Maru again.

Maru raised his eyebrows, then sighed. "I suppose you can see his black aura?" he asked.

Harmony closed her mouth and solemnly nodded. "I thought I'd seen the last of the Shadow Pokémon when I lived in Agate," she murmured. "I see they still exist."

"No, not really," Maru interjected, holding a finger. "You see...Iso, a terrone, wasn't originally pure pokémon." He pointed that finger to Iso's stomach, where the red streak was. "That was different before."

Harmony gasped and backed away a little. "You mean...a Heartless?" she asked. "One of those dastardly fiends who attacked our world? You...You _caught_ one?" She looked incredulously at Maru, eyes now "open" and showing a brilliant maroon.

Maru nodded and smiled. "I fought him myself," he added. "After capturing him, though, a heart came from the ball I used to capture him...a ball I created long ago for a foolish notion I'd gotten in my head..." He held up his ball. "This ball became what's apparently called a Light Ball. It can, as far as I've gathered, capture Heartless who are actually pokémon...Heartless-Pokémon." He put it back. "He then acted like a Shadow Pokémon. Now, after a grand battle, he can say his name...but nothing of meaning comes from it. I should know; I'm able to understand what pokémon say."

Harmony raised her eyebrow, but nodded. "I see...So you're basically at the point where all Iso needs is to undo the final lock, right?" she asked. Maru nodded. She put a hand over her chin, thinking. Then, she got up and went to her dresser, careful around Iso. She opened a drawer and pulled out a grey stone, then closed the drawer again. The stone was about the size of a football and had many carvings on it. She sat down with it again. "Do you know where this comes from?" she asked.

Maru thought for a moment, then guessed, "The stone in Agate Forest?"

Harmony nodded. "It's a piece of the Relic Stone," she named. "It's been used to purify Shadow Pokémon whose hearts' doors are ready to be opened. It undoes the final lock and brings them back." She looked at Iso. "It may be small, but even this piece is powerful if used properly. It contains the power of the pokémon Celebi, so it is quite potent," she told him.

Maru looked at it with wonder. "I can feel its power from here," he said reverently. He looked into her eyes. "...Hmmm..." She widened hers as they maintained eye contact after a second. "...Are you able to...dispel the darkness within Iso?" Maru asked her.

Harmony smiled. "Yes. Would you like for me to...?"

Maru nodded, a look of pleading flashing in his eyes.

"Of course, Maru," she sighed. "Let's see if Iso's ready yet..." She held the stone near Iso, who looked at it in wonder. As it neared him, it began to glow bright green. Satisfied, Harmony brought it back to her. "Yes. Now," she continued, standing, "Tell Iso to hold still."

"Iso, hold still," commanded Maru. Iso froze as if instantly encased in a block of ice, only blinking.

Harmony closed her eyes for real. The Relic Stone piece in her hands glowed bright green. _"Now...Celebi, guardian of the forest, lend me your power through this stone piece..."_ She opened them and Maru saw that they were as green as the stone. _"...Purify this pokémon, Iso, that he may live with an open heart!"_

Suddenly, the light from the stone shot out and circled Iso, dancing about and converging upon him into a spinning ball, causing him to glow greenish. After a moment of this light show, a wave of darkness burst from Iso's body and was shattered by the green light, which shot and struck it like lightning. Then, the light itself burst in a flash, and Iso was normally-colored again. He stood there, blinking at what had just happened. Harmony quietly put the stone, which was now normal again, back into its drawer, then sat down. She smiled. "It's done."

Maru, who had been tense for the experience to end, immediately turned to Iso and commanded, "Say something! Anything! _Please!"_

Iso blinked, looked at Maru, at Harmony, at the dresser, and then at Maru again. Slowly, he opened his mouth. "~Do you...understand me...?~"

Maru shakily dropped his jaw and smiled slowly, eyes widening. "Yes, Iso," he answered. "I can understand you perfectly." 'He's okay. He's okay!'

Iso widened his eyes and dropped his own jaw into a smile, like a child's on Christmas morn in surprise and glee at the presents before them. His face was so expressive, Maru couldn't help but smile more at it. Then, Iso surprised everyone by _glomping_ Maru. With tears falling from his eyes, he hugged the purple-haired Keyblader tightly with his oversized arms and squeaked, "~Oh, thank you, _thank_ you! Oh, man, oh, _man!_ I'm so happy! I can actually _be happy!~"_

Maru mrfed and flailed around. "MMPH! I...Iso?...I'm..._glad_...but..._urk_...can't..._breathe_..." When Iso opened his eyes and looked at him and his blue face, he was saved.

"~Oh, my gosh! Maru! I'm _so_ sorry!~" Iso squeaked, sweatdropping as he backed away to let Maru stand. He then pouted and looked truly sorry. "~I was just so happy that I could finally express and speak normally...~" He hugged him again, very careful to be gentle this time. Even then it was a little tight. "~Thank you so much.~"

Maru gave an embarrassed smile and then...hesitated. But with a gulp, he finally hugged back briefly. "You should really be thanking Madam Harmony," he told him, releasing and finally able to sit down again.

At this, Iso started, then immediately was on the floor and bowing to her, saying, _"~Thank you,_ Madam Harmony! Thank you!~" Maru translated for her, and she laughed.

"Oh, it's nothing," she replied, smiling and patting the dark hair on his head. "Anything to help a pokémon or person regain their hearts when given the chance." She sighed and sat back. "You're quite affectionate to your Trainer," she noticed.

Iso started again, then rolled his eyes at Maru, who was sweatdropping and blushing. He did the same, his blush turning his cheeks and the top of his snout a very dark crimson, unsettlingly like dark, dried blood. He grinned sheepishly. "~Sorry if I embarrassed you, Maru,~" he apologized. "~And that I hugged you too hard.~"

Maru laughed nervously. "That's alright," he replied. "Just...when you're going to do that again, try not to do that so _hard..."_ He turned to Harmony. "And thank you, Madam Harmony," he added to her, bowing deeply. "I am in your debt."

Harmony smiled and nodded. "Thank you," she replied. "I am just glad that a pokémon is themselves again...or...for the first time...?" She and Maru looked at Iso. Iso looked at them for a moment, mouth open as a very soft "Uh?..." came out. He then looked down at the floor. Maru nodded. "So I see," Harmony said quietly, and both turned to her again. She closed her eyes, then opened them again as she looked up. She seemed serious.

"It appears that we have yet another mystery about pokémon on our hands," she began. "We have here a Heartless that has become a pokémon somehow through the ball that Maru threw and caught him with. He was a pokémon, partially, to begin with, yet was not true yet. He has still his shape after purification, and thus this means we have an undiscovered breed of pokémon here." She bowed her head and continued. "A breed born without a heart, or at least one born with hearts shut so tight, they are as if without a heart. I have no idea how this breed came to be, or why they have decided to collect hearts like Heartless do...but I do know this much." She raised her head again and looked at Maru, her maroon gaze fixing his violet. "You, Maru, must seek to capture them and free their hearts from the deep darkness. Or, if you cannot capture them, defeat them like any other Heartless, and free their hearts from some of the suffering of darkness inflicted upon them."

Maru nodded. "I understand."

Harmony nodded, closing her eyes. She opened them again, though they were, again, "closed." "Whenever you find and capture a Heartless pokémon, weaken its dark aura until it can recede no more. Then, come to me, and I shall purify them. Now..." She stood up. "I must attend to certain duties. I ask that you leave now. I wish you luck, Maru, and you, too, Iso," she bade, looking at both. "Now go."

"~"Thank you, Madam Harmony,"~" both pokémon went, bowing, and Maru opened the door, letting Iso out first. He closed it again to sit and lace on his shoes again.

"I know that you are ailed, as well, Maru."

Maru blinked and looked up. "Pardon?"

Harmony smiled sympathetically. "Your eyes. They are not the eyes of a man," she observed. "They are the eyes of a fierce, yet brilliant, beast. Eyes filled with sadness, confusion, and determination."

Maru widened them. "How—?"

Harmony put a finger to her lips. "Hush, young one," she said. She put the finger down. "Your journey is great, but one with many false purposes. Do you know which is the true purpose to follow? Which one is the right way?" she riddled.

Maru looked a little surprised, but then looked down in thought. "...I...don't..." he whispered. He looked up again.

Harmony nodded. "But seek the answer further, continue on, and you will see," she instructed. "The pieces to the puzzle of truth shall gather and be available for you to place one by one. It is a complex one. One you _must_ solve. One that can be ruined if the hand of darkness and confusion is allowed to come and scatter the pieces both fitted together and loose still." She nodded and was silent.

Maru looked at her, scrutinizing her, for a few moments, but then resumed his shoe-tying. He finished and rose, bowed once more, and left. Outside, the other pokémon awaited him. "~What took, Maru?~" Iso asked, tilting his head. "~I heard you talking, but couldn't make it out...~" Now that his voice wasn't tinted with emotion, Maru could hear his voice was deep but young, tinted with a slight growl all the time.

Maru shook his head. "It was nothing," he lied. He smiled and beckoned. "C'mon, I want to show everyone what happened to you."

"~Okay!~" the dragon sang, and they returned to Merlin's house. Iso jogged on his hind legs, holding his large arms up a little.

"Ah, you're ba-_aack!"_ Merlin started in his chair when he saw Iso, tossing his teacup and dancing it with his hands before catching it again. He cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses as he looked at them. "Oh, yes, I...forgot that you had _tamed_ that thing, somehow," he muttered. "You should warn people before you bring it in, though..."

Iso, closing the door with his tail, frowned and crossed his arms. "~Hey! I'm not a _thing!~"_ he complained.

Figment and Elliott, sitting at the table with teacups, themselves, raised their eyeridges at the behavior. "Is it just me, or is he a lot more normal than normal?" Figment asked slowly.

Maru smirked. "It's not just you," he answered. He patted the black dragon on the head, and Iso smiled up at him. The Keyblader explained, "Madam Harmony has a stone that, when she uses some of her own inner power, undoes the final lock on the hearts of Shadow Pokémon. This counts for Iso, too." Iso grinned. "He's finally able to express his emotions, and I can understand what he says!"

"~Hi, guys!~" Iso waved, smiling..._cutely._ He had looked rather frightening before, but now, he looked more like a puppy than anything.

Elliott smiled and twiddled his fingers back. "~But I can't understand him,~" he noted, disappointed.

"I guess I'm still the only one who understands pokémon," Maru shrugged.

Figment looked at Elliott, then at Maru, then at Merlin, smirking. "Iso says that he's not a 'thing', by the way," he informed.

Maru, Iso, and Elliott exclaimed, "~"What?"~" while Merlin started, raising his eyebrows. "Oh! Oh, dear, ah..." Merlin turned to Iso and smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that, old boy. That was, ah, rather rude of me."

Iso nodded. "~That's alright,~" he forgave. He looked at Figment again, eyeridges raised, and pointed. "~But...you can understand me...?~"

Figment nodded proudly, crossing his arms. "Yep!" he replied. "Every word!" He indicated Elliott. "I still can't understand Elliott, but if he can't understand you, then it's a pretty fair trade!" He snickered.

Elliott frowned, bowing his head. "~Why can't I understand him?...~" he mumbled.

"~But I can understand Elliott, too...~" Iso muttered, tilting his head and knitting his brow. He whined. "~Maru, I'm confused!~"

Maru chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm...a bit confused, too, Iso," he admitted. He sighed. "Well, we'd better get back to the ship and get some rest. It's been a long day for all of us."

Figment patted Elliott's shoulder, and the big dragon looked at the little one. Figment smiled. "Don't worry, big guy, I'm sure you'll understand him someday," he assured him. "Just like how I'll understand you."

Elliott smiled and nodded. "~Thanks.~"

**~The Lanes Between~**

Maru stretched again, yawning, "Okay, _now_ I'm getting tired..." as he walked into the bridge.

Iso followed after, looking around. "~I never noticed how cool this thing is,~" he muttered.

"I know, right?" Figment agreed, smiling as he walked behind him. "So, you going to sleep in Maru's cabin again tonight?"

Iso nodded, smiling. "~Yeah—why do you ask?~" he wondered, tilting his head.

"I wanna talk to ya, that's why!" Figment laughed.

"What's goin' on?" Dale asked, scampering over. "Yer Heartless thing finally talkin' right?"

"Dale!" admonished Chip, who bopped him on the head when he got by his brother.

"That's about right," Maru nodded. "We've got a place to purify any Heartless-Pokémon I capture, now." He turned to Iso, smiling. "And I wanna get some talking in, too, actually," he added.

"~Hey, don't leave me out,~" chuckled Elliott. "~I may not understand him, but that hasn't been a problem with me so far.~"

Iso turned to Elliott, looking sorry. "~Elliott...~" He walked over and hugged him as best as he could, surprising Elliott. "~I'm sorry you can't understand me,~" Iso apologized as he did this, looking up at him.

Maru smiled a little at this, and Figment went, "Awwwww! He says he's sorry you can't understand him, Elliott!"

Elliott raised his eyeridges before giving a touched smile, hugging Iso back. "~That's okay, Iso,~" he insisted.

Iso blushed at the returned hug, hugging a little tighter (making Elliott grunt and laugh). He backed away after a second, though, and looked around at the others. "~I'd love to talk to everyone, but...~" He yawned hugely, showing his many sharp teeth, stretching his long arms out. "~...I'm kinda getting tired...It's been a long day, and a lot's happened...~"

"Then let's all turn in," Maru suggested. "We'll talk more in the morning, when we're exploring the next world. Which is..." He walked over to the dash, then nodded. "Yes, _La Cité des Cloches._ 'The City of Bells,'" he explained when Elliott tilted his head puzzledly. (As he suspected, Iso didn't seem confused at all.) "It's French."

Figment grinned and rubbed his paws. "Ooh, France? I _love_ France!" he enthused. "They make _so_ much cool artistic stuff!"

After bidding everyone good-night, Maru took Iso back to his cabin. 'Ugh, I need a shower,' he thought, carefully removing his cloak after removing his shoes. Navi flew out as he did so. "I think there's a washing machine system around here," she commented. "Should be a laundry chute. I can hold onto your stuff if you want while we wash your cloak."

"That'd be great," Maru nodded, taking his shirt off. His human body was toned, but not super-buff or anything.

Iso looked at Navi, blinking his lively green eyes in wonder. "~What _are_ you, by the way?~" he asked.

"He asked—" Maru began, back turned as he searched for and found the laundry chute.

"I'm a fairy," Navi interrupted plainly. "I'm not from your world, Iso."

"~Oh,~" Iso nodded. Both pokémon paused before whipping their heads to her and going, "~"Huh?"~"

Navi giggled. "I can understand pokémon, you guys," she explained. "It comes with being a weird, magical creature."

"Ah," Maru said, raising an eyebrow. "Makes sense...sorta...You can understand Elliott, after all..." He turned back to the chute, putting his shirt through.

"~Why do people wear clothes, Maru?~" asked Iso innocently. Navi, meanwhile, poked through Maru's cloak, getting out the various items he kept there. The trinket Penny had given him had shrunk down to be, indeed, a charm.

"For various reasons, mostly to keep warm," answered Maru, rooting through his pockets. He pulled out the Missingno. Card and looked at it for a moment, smirking a little.

"~Why don't you have fur over more than your head?~" Iso wondered. Navi stopped when she looked at a letter. It was new yet weathered, the red wax seal bearing a familiar circular symbol broken.

"Because that's how humans work," Maru answered, unzipping the leggings and getting out of them. He chuckled. "If humans had fur, it'd be a lot more hassle to sweat, for one."

"That coming from someone with experience," Navi commented wryly.

Maru blinked, then turned around. "What do you—" He froze. Navi was floating there with the letter, front facing. It was simply addressed "Mewtwo".

Iso looked between the two as they stayed still for a few moments. He tilted his head. "~Uh...what? What's going on?~" he asked quietly. "~What's with that thing with the scribbles on it?~"

Maru blinked for a second, then sighed in defeat. "Hiding it from you, of all people, was pointless, I suppose, anyway...How long have you known?" he asked.

"Ever since you let me into your collar." Navi giggled. "Don't worry, 'Maru', your secret's safe with me," she promised, flying back to the desk and depositing the letter. "I won't tell a soul, nor will I write about it in my journal. Though I _will_ write about this, just in a place that only you and I can access."

"Why? For bookkeeping?" Maru wondered.

"For later."

Maru opened his mouth when, frowning, Iso interrupted, "~Really, what's going on?~"

Maru paused. He looked at Iso, then crouched to be eye level with him. "Promise me you swear to tell _no one_ what I'm about to say," he whispered seriously. "Not Figment, not Elliott, not another pokémon."

Iso blinked, unsure how to handle Maru's sudden change of character. "~Uh...I...I promise,~" he nodded slowly.

Maru closed his eyes, then leaned over to whisper by one of his earholes, lifting away the covering gray hair. "My real name is Mewtwo—but still call me Maru, at least around the others. I'm not human. I'm actually a pokémon like you." When he leaned back, Iso's eyes were wide.

Iso stared at him long and hard. He looked deeply into Maru's eyes. "~How...But...~" He shook his head, intrigued and unsure, and hugged Maru again. Maru was a little surprised at the action, then when he realized it wasn't out of affection, this time. Iso pressed his chest to his Trainer's and rested his head on his back, closing his eyes. He felt Maru's heart beating against his. Iso's hide felt slightly rough to Maru, his chest tuft plush, and his minute scales smooth. The muscles beneath were tight, hard—strong. He was warm. Slowly, Iso opened his eyes and parted, gazing seriously straight into Maru's as he continued to hold him. He whispered, "~I...I can sense it. You have the heart of a pokémon. You _are_ a pokémon, Maru.~"

'I'll have to ask how he did that later...' Maru nodded. "I'm sorry for lying to you and everyone, but..." He looked away. "I can't reveal my identity yet. I...I don't trust them yet."

"Why not? You've been with them longer than you've been with me," Navi pointed out. "Sure, we've _kinda_ met before, but it didn't really count...We were more acquaintances than anything else."

Maru shook his head and stood up, letting Iso's arms drop away from him. "This is my choice. No harm has come of it yet, so there's no reason I have to tell them," he stated, and that was that. He turned, grabbed a towel, and went into the bathroom, shutting the door.

"~Maru...a pokémon...~" Iso looked after him for a moment. Then he grinned and pumped his fists. "~You've got to be one of the _best_ Trainers a pokémon could have!~"

"Maru, there's another reason I showed you that letter," called Navi through the door. "You _do_ realize that you're awfully _late_ for the tournament, right?"

Maru yelped and opened the door. He was wearing a towel around his waist as he looked at Navi, sweatdropping. "That's _right!_ With all this mess, I totally _forgot! **Again!"**_ he exclaimed quietly. He sighed, looking down and shaking his head. "But I already promised we're visiting _La Cité des Cloches_ tomorrow, so..."

Navi laughed. "Aw, c'mon, one more day won't kill 'em," she dismissed. "Besides, I bet with the way things are _these_ days..."

Iso was confused again. "~What tournament? What _is_ a tournament?~" he queried.

"We'll explain later," Navi and Maru replied. Maru sighed and, while he was out there, deposited his remaining clothing, removed in the privacy of the bathroom, down the chute, gingerly putting his cloak last. He noticed a bin with a pipe situated above it in another corner of the cabin, perhaps where the laundry came out when finished, then went to take his shower.

"~Huh...~" Iso yawned again, curling a pink, pointed tongue. "~I think I'm gonna go to sleep...Night, Navi...~" While Navi (who returned the sentiment) settled on the desk and began recording in her journal, Iso crawled to the spot beside Maru's bed and curled up. 'I'm finally...a pokémon...' he thought as he heard Maru start the shower. 'But...' He closed his eyes. '...am I really...true...?'

"~Maru...what if I'm...not what you think I am, either...?~"

* * *

><p>~Author's Note~<p>

WOW. I sat down this weekend, expecting just a few sections through, but here I am, on Monday, putting the finishing touches on Maru's day. Lemme tell ya, it wasn't exactly easy, but it was fun. Let's see, comments...Well, first, I personally think that the crocs are friendly (in a mean way), and that the Disney Wiki is crazy for insisting Mr. Snoops is an ally to Penny, now. At best, both are probably neutral now. Second, I hope I made Medusa look like the creepy, selfish, heartless beeyotch she is. Third, I hope I didn't put in too much fluff this time. Fourth, I hope that I did alright with the way I did those bonus messages that come up at the end of boss battles sometimes. Fifth, even though I rewatched it at home during Spring Break, I had to refer to the film again several times. It just wasn't that super-memorable compared to other movies, though it was still a good flick. Sixth, because there wasn't an "OBTAINED" for them:

**Revive**

_Pokémon medicine that revives a fainted pokémon with half its HP. Only usable on pokémon._

The reason this is here is because KH Potions and stuff can't revive fainted pokémon (save for Maru and full-on teammates), and they don't revive on their own without a Center or a save disc. Also, if a pokémon faints during a boss battle, they gain half the EXP. And yes, this means that, potentially, Maru can make use of them, too, as he technically _is_ still a pokémon, but he'll need someone else to use it on him. And, seeing as his teammates don't know he's a pokémon and if Navi or Iso figure out to use it and do so when his teammates are there...well.

Also, I'm _totally_ not trying to buy time to design the Keyblade for Devil's Bayou by making Maru forget about Leon (or even Merlin) mentioning changing Keychains. _Totally_ not. Totally.

Iso: ~He's lying.~

[[DontExplainTheJoke They know that.]] (MAN I'm too much of a Troper...)

Iso: ~Really? I dunno...~

What, you think you could do a better Author's Note than the author?

Iso: *puts paws on hips* ~Why, yes, I do!~

Fine, then. *hands script over* Finish this Author's Note for me, remembering that these are my words, not yours.

Iso: *blinks as he looks at the scripts, taking them slowly* ~...But I can't—~ *as soon as he takes them, he raises his eyeridges as the knowledge pours into his brain* ~—WHOA that was weird...~

Now, then, if you would...*makes the "after you" gesture and steps aside*

Iso: *steps forwards, blushing, and gulps* ~Well, uh...here goes...*thinks a bit to remember the script, then clears throat*

~Ferre hopes nobody is disappointed that he moved Harmony to Radiant Garden from Melee Arena. It's just that he _really_ wanted to purify me right away, especially after all the hell I'd been through in Devil's Bayou...*looks behind* Pun intended? *FT shakes head, Iso looks back and thinks a bit more. He blushes.* He admits that he mostly did it because he loves "the little guy" to death because he thinks I'm absolutely adorable! Awwww...! *n===n* But yeah, I agree with him—it'd kinda be a crime to make me endure a whole extra episode before purification.

~The thing about this episode Ferre disliked the most was probably this latter half of it. Okay, um...here's the way the whole episode played out...*crosses claws, looks up with eyes as he speaks:*

~Cutscene, brawl, cutscene, a couple areas of exploration, cutscene, one area, cutscene, one area, cutscene, two areas, cutscene, boss battle, cutscene, two areas, cutscene, one area with a mini-cutscene in the middle, cutscene, save point area, cutscene, small event involving about three areas with an extra one to go back to if you really want to, cutscene, save point area, cutscene, boss battle, cutscene, brawl in an area you'll never get to again, cutscene, one area (we had to go from the...I don't know which deck to the stern), cutscene, restricted to the stern to save, cutscene(, perhaps make the escape sequence playable...somehow...maybe a couple quicktime events where you pull up Elliott or a short scene where you have Figment use Fire everywhere in the boiler room), boss battle, final cutscene. *mops brow* _Whew!_ That was insane!

~Anyway, um...Ah—Take a close look at that second half. That's not very much free gameplay. He says, "DAMN, I suck," but I don't think you suck, Ferre! Um...But it was the only way he thought he could do things. Sorry, folks. At least it was entertaining, right? 'Cuz I think it was. I had a lot of fun, and I can talk, now! *jumps up and down excitedly* He promises to try harder next time. And he defends himself by adding that this is _hard_.

~If he thinks of anything else, he'll...say it himself? *looks behind*~

Actually, you're doing a good job. Go ahead and add any comments you want. Either way, I'll have you deliver the Author's Note until further notice. And thank you for not thinking I suck. *to audience* Yes, I'm being stupid and playing favorites, but I like writing him, okay?

Iso: _~Huh?~_

I mean—I like him, okay?

Iso: *scratches head but shrugs*

Anyway, carry on. I'm going, guys, so see ya! *leaves*

Iso: *nods* ~Alright, let's see, um...There's one more thing, but he said to add comments, so...*snaps claws* I know! I'll just talk about what I thought during the episode!

~At first, I was all stiff and weird. I...I think Maru'd better listen before I talk about how it feels to be...like I was. *looks away briefly* Anyway, I was surprised to see another terrone in front of me when Maru sent me out first. I..._think_ I had fun fighting him, but the only thing I'm sure of is that I got really ticked off when he hit my tail like that. *growls, holding tail* Maru read me right—_no one_ touches my tail!...Well, not like that. I love my tail! It's cool! And I can whack things with it! *giggles* I can't wait to learn Iron Tail! *releases tail* But yeah, I...I got so mad...*shakes head* When Maru's here, when Maru's here...

~When Maru told me to push the boat like that, I wasn't sure what he meant at first. Then it sort of sank in, and...well, he was my master, so I did it, sorta like a machine. It was kinda hard work, flying them around like that, but I feel proud, now. *grins* If I didn't do that, they wouldn't have gotten very far! I also followed his orders sorta mechanically, too, whenever he told me to fly someone. I bet it helped purify me, too...

~Oh, almost forgot! When they were waiting for Evinrude to get back, Maru let me out. I didn't do much, but after a while, Elliott groaned and rubbed his back. Maru looked at him and suddenly got this thoughtful look on his face. He mumbled something about how it might help him and how it'd pass the time, then offered to give Elliott something he called a "massage". I thought it was a weird way to say "message", but then Elliott lay down on his stomach and Maru, blushing for some reason, got onto his back and started pushing at it. Elliott looked really relaxed, though he winced a few times. It confused me; I mean, why would someone pushing your back feel good? After a long time, Maru said he was done, and Elliott said he'd do his back. Maru didn't look like he liked it as much, but I get the feeling he doesn't wanna show that he actually did. *snickers* I think I know why Figment calls him Mr. Serious-Pants. But...yeah...*looks thoughtful, gently pulling his chest tuft straight with a couple fingers*

~...When I saw Exexitt...*growls again, but gentler* I felt this...dislike. This distrust. Like I knew he was my enemy. Before, it didn't _really _register that the other terrone was an enemy until Maru ordered me to attack. But now...I wanted to fight him as soon as I saw him. Maybe I should wait until Maru can hear this, too...

~After I heard that figure say I was unable to battle, I realized what Maru had just said, and I just wanted to prove that guy wrong! I think it was...pride? Whatever it was, after that moment, when I could sorta speak again, it was so exciting! I'm really surprised I beat that thing so easily, though, now that I think about it...

~I dunno why everyone was so scared of the Black Hole. I was okay with it, apart from the danger I sensed. Then again, I can see in the dark, and...um...*looks away again*...nevermind...*looks back* But I'm glad everyone got out okay. *pauses for a moment, then frowns* Wait a minute...isn't the bayou just a river? Are rivers _supposed_ to have tides? I mean, flooding, sure, but...? *shakes head, shrugging*

~For some reason, when I was purified, I realized that the whole time, I had been liking Maru more and more. *smiles fondly* I trust him. He's the one who saved me. *giggles and blushes* I guess I was so happy and grateful when I was purified, I couldn't help but hug him with...with all my being! *wags tail* I like hugging Maru. Actually, I just like hugging! It's so _fun!_ I feel bad for Elliott not being able to understand me...I really do. That's why I hugged him like that. *blushes more, squeezing fists to face* Ooooh, that felt so _great!_ He's fun to hug and he hugged back! He's way better than Maru at hugging! *stops, sweatdropping at audience* Don't tell him I said someone's better than him at something. I don't think he'd like it.

~Anyway, um...*pauses to think, then shakes head* Nah...I'd better just wrap this up with the usual

**8D OMAKE 8D~**

***Maru gets out of the shower with a pair of purple boxers on. Yes, his hair is still sticking up and stuff. The game designers didn't want to bother making a damp-haired model. (Which is why Sora's hair keeps its shape underwater.) He walks over to his bed.***

**Iso:** *wakes up from his doze and smiles up at Maru* ~Welcome back, Maru!~

**Maru:** *smiles at him* Thank you, Iso. Did I wake you?

**Iso:** ~Yeah, but I don't mind. I wanted to talk a little, anyway.~

**Maru:** Okay. Wait, I'm just curious—you're Dragon-type, right?

**Iso:** ~Yep!~ *thinking* Well, partly...

**Maru:** I see...What level are you?

**Iso: **~Uh...11. I gained two levels after Madam Harmony purified me.~

**Maru:** Hmm...That thing I saw you do when Medusa shot you, that's an Ability, right?

**Iso:** ~Yep! You called it "Bullet Dodge", right? Sounds good—it lets me instantly dodge any physical ranged move. Though I think it's only a few certain types...~

**Maru:** Interesting! What do you eat, normally?

**Iso:** *sweatdropping* ~I-I dunno! I've never actually eaten anything before!~ *thinking* _I'm_ the one who wanted to talk, but _he's_ the one doing all the talking!


End file.
